Dear Madeleine,

I am a senior manager and have managed people for decades. I am a student of leadership and work every day to be a better leader. Here is something I am having trouble putting into words, but I hope you have some inspiration for me.

I make a big effort to help my people develop their skills so they can achieve their career goals. I put a lot of time in, most of it listening and offering guidance. Many of my team members have gone on to great things, both in my own company and elsewhere. But just as many, if not more, have not. It is frustrating to see so much potential wasted. Everyone has their reasons for not taking advantage of the opportunities in front of them. Sometimes I know what the reasons are, sometimes I don’t.

It didn’t dawn on me until recently, as I watched a brilliant and gifted young person self-sabotage despite my best efforts, that I am tired of being disappointed. It is making me second guess the value of the investments I make in people. I wonder if I should bother.

Appreciate any thoughts you have.

Disappointed

_______________________________________________________

Dear Disappointed,

Well, you did a good enough job of putting your thoughts into words to make my heart ache. I have heard this kind of vague sadness from others, and have felt it myself, but I think you hit the nail on the head. This is one of the reasons managing people is hard. And the more you care, the harder it is.

Disappointment literally makes our brains hurt. The research reveals that disappointment produces a significant chemical response in the brain that makes us feel terrible. The brain stops releasing dopamine and serotonin suddenly and the result feels intense. The higher the expectation—and thus the extent of the disappointment—the more dramatic the yuck. You are not imagining it.

It kind of makes you want to tell people when they first start working with you, “Look kid, I am going to give you all I’ve got, so don’t disappoint me, okay?” But you won’t. And you shouldn’t, because it wouldn’t work. Why? Because it is your own expectations that are setting you up for the letdown.

There is no blame or shame in having expectations, but if they continue to cause you so much pain, you might think about finding ways to temper them. Some ways to temper your expectations:

• Gain clarity. Spell out for yourself what your expectations are. Perhaps have conversations with your people in which you find out what their own expectations of themselves are. There may be gaps in both your and their expectations that will help you to modify your outlook.
• Ponder a distinction. There is a difference between having a big hopeful vision for someone else and expecting something of them. Sharing a big hopeful vision—what you see as possible for someone—can be a huge gift. It can shift how someone sees themselves in a transformational way. But it is simply a gift, given with no expectation or pressure. If someone requires pressure to achieve what is possible for them, that needs to come from within.
• Work on your attachment. It might help you to reframe your call to go the extra mile for your people as a mitzvah. Mitzvah is a Hebrew word that means “good deed” or acts of empathy and kindness. Right now it seems you are expecting something in return for your generosity—which, don’t get me wrong, is totally normal. It just isn’t making you happy. Take something Nelson Mandela said as a guide: “There is no greater gift than that of giving one’s time and energy to others without expecting anything in return.”
• Remember that everyone has choice. Ultimately, no matter how valuable the gift of your time and attention, every person on whom you bestow your gift is going to choose what they do with it. In the end, it is completely out of your hands and out of your control. You are letting yourself get really upset about things that are entirely uncontrollable. You, too, have a choice.

Your conundrum reminds of a wonderful poem, “On Children,” from Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet. I know you are not a parent, but many see the parallels between managing and parenting. I hope this excerpt might resonate for you:

“You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

This may provide the perspective you need to sustain your kindness. Your other option is for you to just give up and decide to not bother anymore. That would be cynical and it sounds like you are no cynic.

So take pleasure in the wins, but remember they are really other people’s wins. You may mourn the losses as well, briefly, but remember that they also belong to others.

Love, Madeleine

PS: I will take this opportunity to encourage anyone who reads this and is reminded of a manager who made a big difference in their life to reach out and say thanks. Just a brief note on LinkedIn would do the trick—or, of course, a handwritten note is always welcome if you have the address. I know—so retro.

About Madeleine

Madeleine Homan Blanchard is a master certified coach, author, speaker, and cofounder of Blanchard Coaching Services. Madeleine’s Advice for the Well Intentioned Manager is a regular Saturday feature for a very select group: well intentioned managers. Leadership is hard—and the more you care, the harder it gets. Join us here each week for insight, resources, and conversation.

Got a question for Madeleine? Email Madeleine and look for your response soon. Please be advised that although she will do her best, Madeleine cannot respond to each letter personally. Letters will be edited for clarity and length.

In honor of Women’s History Month, I sat down with Debbie Ung, EVP of sales and professional services at The Ken Blanchard Companies, to talk about her experiences being a female leader in various industries.

What motivated you to become a leader?

I became a leader out of necessity. I was working for a startup organization that was growing quickly; we created leadership roles to manage the increasing number of people and projects. I have always been driven to perform at a high level and to make a positive difference in the workplace, so being thrust into a leadership role made sense. I was fulfilling a business need. Being a leader wasn’t something I sought out, it just evolved. I’ve always been fortunate to work with organizations that had a very clear purpose and mission. These organizations knew what they wanted to accomplish and I realized early in my career that the only way to deliver on purpose is through people working together to drive impact. I was comfortable leading teams to help organizations reach their goals. I could do more as a leader than as an individual working on a team.

Who has inspired you along the way?

The COO of the startup company I mentioned before taught me the importance of hiring really good people. I learned to hire people smarter than myself; people who would challenge me to be better; people I could count on to show up and get the job done in a way that was respectful to our organization and to clients. I believe when you hire the best and brightest, your job as a leader is to help them all work together efficiently to meet the needs of the customer. A high performing team dedicated to the mission ensures that organizational vitality is secured.

The COO also taught me about followership. The role of the leader is to serve the needs of their people, remove obstacles, and help them work together to achieve goals. Leadership is about being others-focused, not self-focused.

This might seem counterintuitive, but I’ve also been inspired by leaders who weren’t so great. Anyone who has worked with an ineffective leader knows how much difficult situations can negatively impact their entire life, both at work and at home. Those experiences helped me understand what I didn’t want to be as a leader. I didn’t want to cause stress for my team members. I wanted them to succeed. So I learned the leadership behaviors to avoid as well as the behaviors to emulate. 

And of course, I was inspired by my parents, who encouraged me to do what I was passionate about, focus on results, and deliver my best performance regardless of the activity.

What’s your definition of leadership?

Ultimately, being a leader means being focused on others and not yourself. As a leader, you need to be aware of how you are developing your team members so they can learn to lead others, too. That is what followership is all about. A leader has the responsibility to create other leaders who are going to inspire other people.

Do you think gender and age bias are still an issue for women in leadership?

I’ve been in leadership roles for more than 25 years. I can see that we have made improvements in age and gender bias, but they are slight improvements. Women, especially women of color, are still underrepresented in leadership roles. Unfortunately, the pandemic actually increased this gap. Research has shown that women have experienced burnout at a much higher rate than men. There are many causes for that, but the truth is that the gap just got larger.

My experience with age bias occurred in my first leadership role. I was much younger than my mostly male team and at times I felt imposter syndrome taking hold. I sometimes doubted myself. It took me a while to trust my own voice and to push myself through the challenging times. Looking back, I clearly see that most of the perceived barriers I thought I was fighting were actually assumed constraints. I succeeded in that time by being super clear on my priorities and trusting my own judgment, which built my confidence and in turn my competence with being a leader.

How can women support other women in their organizations?

I love mentoring young women and I’ve found it doesn’t have to be a documented mentor/mentee relationship. I encourage women to build strong networks and alliances—it can be as simple as starting a book club or social club. Providing the opportunity for women to come together to create dialogue helps to form relationships, build trust, and fuel confidence. And this doesn’t have to be limited to women. Men and women should mentor each other, too. We have a lot to learn from each other.

You have young twin granddaughters. What is your hope for them and for future generations of women who will enter the workforce?

I look at my granddaughters and the crazy world they have been born into and all I can hope is that they are confident, kind, and caring. I hope they find a way to contribute in any way that positively impacts others. I want them to feel good about themselves and the contributions they are making. It doesn’t matter what their job is as long as they contribute to society in a kind way that brings them happiness.

OK, just for fun: beach or mountains, Beatles or Rolling Stones, and vanilla or chocolate?

Hmmm, definitely beach and Rolling Stones. And chocolate—is there any other choice?

Trust is the foundation of success, and the pandemic is putting enormous pressure on it.

COVID has created a historic amount of stress and anxiety, which is testing the bonds of trust we have with each other. Making things more difficult is how seldom leaders and team members meet face to face these days, combined with how often the nature of technology causes us to misinterpret each other’s intentions. All this makes us liable to arrive at incorrect conclusions about trustworthiness.

Trusted leaders who have quality relationships with their team members are thriving. But leaders who have a trust deficit with their people are having a rough ride—and any chinks in their armor are being magnified.

Trust Comes from Behaviors

The challenge with trust is that most of us don’t think about it until it’s been broken. Trust is based on experiences—our interactions with individuals and leaders in an organization. It’s personal and fluid. We have to pay attention to it.

As a leader, consider whether you could be inspiring trust or eroding it. Now, take into account how the pandemic has made trust even more essential—and more fragile.

Four Ways to Build and Restore Trust

How can leaders diagnose their relationships and improve them? We teach the four elements of trust: Able, Believable, Connected, and Dependable (ABCD).

• Able: Can you do what you say you can do? Do you demonstrate competence? Do you have the skills, knowledge, and expertise to be good at what you do? Do you have a track record of success? Does your performance inspire trust in others?

• Believable: Do you act with integrity? Do you walk your talk? Do your behaviors align with your values? Do your values mirror your organization’s values?

• Connected: Do you really care about your people? How much care do you demonstrate in your relationships? Do you have your people’s best interests in mind? Or do you have a hidden agenda? One of the simple truths of leadership Ken Blanchard and I discuss in our new book, Simple Truths of Leadership: 52 Ways to Be a Servant Leader and Build Trust, speaks to the importance of connection in building trust: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Our level of interpersonal connection with others is what fans the flames of trust in those relationships.

• Dependable: Do you honor your commitments? Are you reliable? Will you do what you say you’re going to do?

Leaders who study these four elements are able to build and restore trust. It’s common sense, but not common practice.

Here’s what I tell leaders when I give talks and run workshops: Keep it simple. Start with the basics. Demonstrate behaviors that align with the ABCDs. You’ll build trust and be viewed as trustworthy. It’s not complicated.

Trust, Psychological Safety, and the Extraordinary

Trust and psychological safety go hand in hand. Psychological safety is feeling safe enough to speak up, take a risk, or share ideas without fear of the consequences. And psychological safety translates into improved employee engagement, increased productivity, more collaboration, and behaviors that are required for corporate success.

The ABCDs of trust create an environment where people feel comfortable being vulnerable. That’s essentially what psychological safety is. Do you feel safe enough to be vulnerable in expressing ideas, sharing information, and speaking your truth without fear of punishment?

When people feel trusted and safe, the extraordinary can happen.

Look at it this way. There’s no need for trust if there’s no risk involved. We’re certain the sun’s going to come up tomorrow. That’s a sure thing; a guarantee. Trust isn’t required. 

But what if I’m in a group meeting with my boss, who says something that I know is wrong? It might be risky for me to speak up and tell the boss that they’re incorrect. Do I trust my boss to hear the feedback dispassionately? Are contrary opinions welcome? Or even encouraged?

Trust and psychological safety create a virtuous cycle. They foster safe environments, which allow people to flourish and accomplish the remarkable.

The ABCDs: Guideposts for a Tumultuous Time

The pandemic is a great trust experiment. It is forcing organizations and leaders to extend massive amounts of trust in new and different ways.

Just think back to March 2020, when organizations were rushing to get their people set up to work remotely and were scrambling to keep the lights on. Literally overnight, organizations extended massive amounts of trust to their employees to do whatever it took to keep the business afloat. In 2021 we started to settle into a weird new normal of hybrid work as some organizations started bringing people back to the office. The new COVID variants in 2022 are the latest gut-punch to trust between leaders and their people. But no matter what the pandemic throws at us, we have to continue building and restoring trust.

The pandemic is running its chaotic course and the great trust experiment continues. But there is good news in the midst of the tumult. The ABCDs of trust are lampposts that light the way to a brighter tomorrow. Use them and you’ll be better prepared to meet any challenges in your path.

Editor’s Note: Interested in learning more? Join Randy Conley and Ken Blanchard for a free webinar on January 26. Randy and Ken will be sharing key concepts from their new book, Simple Truths of Leadership. Use this link to register!

I posed that question to over 100 participants in a series of workshops I recently conducted for a client. As you might suspect, about half the people thought relationships was the most important word. Their rationale essentially boiled down to people are the ones who do the work in the organization, and if you want them to produce good results, you need to nurture good relationships.

The other half of the group advocated that results was the most important word. Their argument was that without good results, positive relationships don’t matter. If you aren’t winning—however that is defined for your organization—then nothing else counts.

What is your answer to that question? If you said and, then bravo, you’re correct! (Did the title of the article give it away?!)

Organizational leaders often have an either/or attitude toward results and people. Those who focus too heavily on results may have trouble creating and sustaining great relationships with their people, and leaders who mainly focus on relationships may have trouble getting the desired results.

Placing too much emphasis on relationships to the detriment of results is perhaps the biggest misconception of servant leadership. That couldn’t be further from the truth! You can get both great results and great relationships if you understand the two parts of servant leadership:

• The leadership aspect focuses on vision, direction, and results—where you as a leader hope to take your people. Leaders should involve others in setting direction and determining desired results, but if people don’t know where they’re headed or what they’re meant to accomplish, the fault lies with the leader.
• The servant aspect focuses on working side by side in relationship with your people. Once the vision and direction are clear, the leader’s role shifts to service—helping people accomplish agreed-upon goals. Serving your people in this way builds high-trust relationships and results in highly engaged team members.

The simple truth is servant leadership is the best way to achieve both great results and great relationships. It’s common sense, but not always common practice.

I invite you to join me and Ken Blanchard for a live virtual talk on January 26, 2022, where we’ll discuss this and other simple truths of leadership and trust from our new book, Simple Truths of Leadership: 52 Ways to Be a Servant Leader and Build Trust. The event is free, but registration is required.

Randy Conley is Vice President of Professional Services and Trust Practice Leader at The Ken Blanchard Companies. His award-winning blog, Leading with Trust, has influenced over 4 million viewers since its inception in 2012. His LeaderChat posts appear the fourth or last Thursday of every month. You can follow Randy on Twitter @RandyConley or connect with him on Linked-In.

Engagement expert Heather Younger understands the positive impact a caring leader can have on both individuals and entire organizations. In her latest book, The Art of Caring Leadership: How Leading with Heart Uplifts Teams and Organizations, she shares nine behaviors that leaders need to practice to truly care for their people.

Younger’s research has proven that people who know that their leader truly cares about them and their success will go above and beyond to perform. This leads to increased productivity, customer satisfaction, and employee engagement. Although many leaders believe they are caring leaders, many are not. Employees will judge this for themselves, not based on their leader’s intentions but on their actions—actions that are easily cultivated and put into practice.

Younger interviewed more than 80 leaders to identify the nine daily actions required for someone to become a caring leader. In each chapter she defines one action in detail, offers a tip for putting the action into practice, and includes a personal story from a leader who has implemented their learning. The Art of Caring Leadership is an inspiring guidebook for leaders who wish to immediately start their journey toward becoming a caring leader.

Younger takes an often nebulous, subjective concept and makes it concrete and actionable. Leaders have the power to literally change the lives of those they lead by demonstrating how much they care. They shouldn’t just want to care; they should see the act of caring as imperative to the success of their employees and their organization.

For more information about Heather Younger, go to theartofcaringleadership.com or follow her on LinkedIn.

To hear host Chad Gordon interview Heather Younger, listen to the Leaderchat podcast and subscribe today.

The quality of a company’s customer service affects its reputation as well as its bottom line. Customer service done well raises an organization’s image in the public eye and attracts new revenue. Customer service done poorly does the opposite.

When an organization delivers with such excellence and consistency that its service reputation becomes a competitive edge, that’s Legendary Service. It starts with leaders serving their people at the highest level, so that people on the front line can in turn serve their customers at the highest level.

We call these types of leaders service champions, because they create passion and momentum in others to better serve their customers. These champions follow up their inspiring words with actions, creating systems and processes that support their belief that service is vitally important.

Creating a culture of service requires a focus on four basic elements. In our book, Legendary Service: The Key is to CARE, Kathy Cuff, Vicki Halsey and I describe this as a CARE model, which is fitting, because great customer service hits people at an emotional level and creates a connection.

With a caring mindset in place, you can turn that mindset into action. In our book, Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service, Sheldon Bowles and I share three steps for turning your customers into raving fans—people who are so blown away by their service experience that they brag about you to others.

Decide what you want your customer experience to be. If you want Legendary Service, you don’t just announce it. You must plan for it. You must decide what you want to do. What kind of experience do you want your customers to have as they interact with every aspect of your organization? Understanding what your customers really want helps you determine what you should offer them.

Discover what your customers want. After you decide what you want to have happen, it’s important to discover any suggestions your customers may have that will improve their experience with your organization. What would make their experience with you better? Ask them!

Deliver your ideal customer service experience. Now you must help people deliver the ideal customer service experience, plus a little bit more.

When leaders empower and train people to deliver Legendary Service, customers become raving fans—leading to reputable, profitable, high performing organizations. I hope this helps as you look for ways to continue serving your people and your customers. For more ideas on how to create an organization where service is the norm, be sure to check out the 60-page summary of Leading at a Higher Level we’ve posted on our website. It’s available for free, courtesy of The Ken Blanchard Companies.

“So many of us are dealing with changes to our work routines. It’s generating a mountain of new requests and tasks that require us to get things done using new guidelines, practices, and procedures,” says bestselling business author Dr. Vicki Halsey, VP of Applied Learning at The Ken Blanchard Companies.

“Leaders need to: (1) be sure direct reports are clear on what they have to do; (2) work with each of them to diagnose where they are on each task; and (3) get them the resources they need to succeed,” explains Halsey. “Managers need to be as clear as possible about what a good job looks like.

This can be more difficult than it seems on the surface—for example, when there are conflicting priorities. Managers are often asked to hit output quotas at a high level of quality but under a certain budget. In a call center, this might translate to workers being urged to solve every customer’s problem the first time they call while also maintaining a call volume of more than 20 calls answered per hour. That’s a huge challenge. The best organizations get clear on what is most important and set specific, trackable, and attainable goals while striving to maintain motivation and avoid burnout.”

Once goals are set, leaders need to be attentive to each individual’s level of competence and commitment for the new task or new way of doing things. Diagnosing development level is key, says Halsey.

“Help people see where they are on a specific task in terms of ability and motivation, which we describe as competence and commitment. A person can be high or low on either scale. When these measurements are combined, the person will end up at one of four development levels such as Disillusioned Learner (low on commitment, low on competence) and Self-Reliant Achiever (high on commitment, high on competence).

“As a leader, you need to listen and observe very carefully. If the person is a learner, you help solve the problem for them. If they’ve had some demonstrable success but they’re a little hesitant, you flip the conversation and ask them how they think they should solve the problem.”

Halsey says in all cases, the leader must stay involved.

“If you leave people alone, that’s when they will move the task to the next day’s to-do list. If you want to keep accelerating their performance, you have to stay with them. Are they letting you know their status on a task, or have they gone silent? Go and check with them. If you notice you’re not seeing the person as much as you used to, you need to connect with them, figure out where they’re stuck, and get them back on track.

“Your goal as a leader is to keep the conversations flowing. That’s the secret to productivity—clear goals, people aligned on performance, and being able to diagnose and then give what is needed to ensure they get the job done. When you accomplish that, you are working in a highly productive, aligned manner,” says Halsey. “That’s good for you, your people, and your organization!”

Would you like to learn more about helping the leaders in your organization have effective conversations in a changing work environment? Join us for a free webinar!

3 Performance Conversation Skills All Leaders Need to Master
Wednesday, June 10, 2020, 7:00 a.m. Pacific Time

Join Dr. Vicki Halsey for an in-depth look at the three skills today’s leaders need to master in our changing world—goal setting, diagnosing, and matching. Halsey will show you how to help your leaders diagnose people’s development levels on new tasks and goals and how to provide the proper amounts of direction and support to get people up to speed quickly. You’ll explore how leaders can:

• Structure new goals, tasks, and processes for team members
• Diagnose a direct report’s current development level for mastering a new skill
• Provide a matching leadership style with the right amount of direction and support

Don’t miss this opportunity to get people performing at a high level quickly in a changing world.

Register today!

With all of the change and disruption in today’s world, leaders are being asked to lead their teams through new situations never navigated in modern history. It can be overwhelming when everyone is looking to you for the answers. Leaders can take a cue from the coaching world on serving people and meeting them exactly where they are. Here are five things that can help you coach in a challenging time.

1. Remember, the person you are coaching is resourceful and innovative. They don’t need to be fixed, but they may need a nudge to mentally reframe their current situation. I recently coached a colleague who was dealing with all the requisite WFH challenges. She had all the tools and resources she needed, but couldn’t see them through the haze of “newness.” She came up with a structure and a plan. Now she’s on track to be highly effective and is feeling much more in control.
2. You don’t have to have all the answers. Yep, this is Coaching 101—and worth remembering. This week, a client came to her coaching session upset over, well, everything. She couldn’t get in to see her dad, who is in assisted living. Her 19-year-old son was insisting on going on spring break out of the country, her husband was now sharing her office, her grocery store was out of toilet paper, and her company was suffering the first round of layoffs in memory. Through coaching, she was able to reframe and reprioritize. She’s now focusing on the positive actions she can take and finding ways to let go of the things she can’t control. For a great book on reframing, check out Judd Hoekstra’s Crunch Time.
3. You need to take care of yourself. Psychological resilience is the ability to mentally or emotionally cope with a crisis or to return to pre-crisis status quickly. Taking care of yourself may look like finding new ways to exercise, talking to a therapist, sticking to good habits, or just giving yourself a break to have a mini meltdown and then get over it. Make sure you are checking in with yourself and giving yourself the same loving care you give to your team members. One of my colleagues practices meditation. She says it keeps her calm, focused, and yes—resilient. Find the ways that work best for you, and keep at it.
4. You have adapted, and can adapt, to change. Yes things will change. Yes there will be loss and there will be opportunity. “New normal” might look very different in four or six weeks and beyond. The truth is that ALL change, whether rapid or not, will eventually settle. We humans are pretty darned good at adapting. Trust yourself that you will be, too. My 91-year-old dad saw more change in his lifetime than I had ever realized. Before he passed on (a change in itself) he summarized for his kids some of the changes he lived through: The war to end all wars, the invention of television, common use of the telephone (and the mobile phone), desktop computers, hemlines, women in the workplace, hairstyles (although he stuck to his wonderful brush cut), the beginning of equal rights, the Berlin wall coming down, families with more than one car in the driveway, putting a man on the moon, the Great Depression and the world recovery that followed, fast food, the five-dollar cup of coffee, and a whole host of other things. He said the only thing that hadn’t changed was that old guys like him still wore suspenders. My dad didn’t like change, but he could sure adapt!
5. It’s all going to be okay. Whether you call it faith, self-determinism, hope, or belief in humankind, the label doesn’t matter as much as what does: we are all going to be okay. Find this belief in yourself. Share it. Spread it. Contribute to it. Take a deep breath, then six more. Keep breathing. We ARE all in this together. And together we will move into a post-Covid-19 world.

About the Author

Patricia Overland is a Coaching Solutions Partner with The Ken Blanchard Companies’ Coaching Services team.  Since 2000, Blanchard’s 150 coaches have worked with over 14,500 individuals in more than 250 companies throughout the world. Learn more at Blanchard Coaching Services.

For most, if not all organizations, their employees are their number one asset. This makes the wellbeing, the engagement of employees very important. Why?  Because engaged employees are passionate about their work.  They strive to provide superior customer service, solve problems, and find innovative approaches. 

A great way to generate a significant positive affect on employee engagement is through individualized attention and one way to get started is through coaching.

Every employee in an organization is different.  Coaching is a wonderful way to give employees individualized, customized attention.  Coaching is uniquely tailored for the person being coached. A coach works with an individual to understand what make them tick—to understand the employee’s own strengths and work passion.  Coaching helps to draw out employees’ ideas and opinions and helps employees to discover how to best make their own contribution.  It makes employees feel valued and appreciated.  All this attention gets employees to engage more in their own career.

Is engagement an issue in your organization? Consider some of these ways a coach provides individualized attention to those they serve.

A coach:

• Takes the time to build rapport with those they coach to get a sense of who they are, not just what they do. Great rapport often increases employees’ motivation to work hard in their role and on the goals of the organization.
• Values employees’ contributions and cares about their professional success.  This in turn often empowers them to take more ownership of their own continued development.
• Cares about the individual, working with them to understand their strengths and foster greater development. 
• Checks in with those they coach to see what is working, what isn’t, and what might the employee do different in the future.

Coaching gets clients to engage more in their role, their development, and the goals of the organization. When employees receive coaching, they feel positively supported and valued by their organization which in turn generates and builds more engagement. 

Engagement has been shown to increase retention, innovation, and performance, and as a byproduct, revenue.  What organization wouldn’t welcome that?

When people feel that their manager cares about their development their commitment and energy increases. This leads to growth, increases their confidence, and helps them to reach their full potential. Use a coach approach to individualize attention, either by hiring outside coaching or developing those capabilities in-house. Individualized attention pays off for the individual and the organization.

About the Author

Joanne Maynard is a senior coach with The Ken Blanchard Companies’ Coaching Services team.  Since 2000, Blanchard’s 130 coaches have worked with over 14,500 individuals in more than 250 companies throughout the world. Learn more at Blanchard Coaching Services.

The first edition came out in 2006 and featured the best thinking from 18 different authors, summarizing the key concepts from all the Blanchard programs at the time.  The new edition continues that tradition. Now featuring the work of 25 authors, this edition includes four new chapters: Building Trust, Mentoring, Collaboration, and Organizational Leadership.

“The umbrella concept,” says lead author Ken Blanchard, “is servant leadership—the idea that people lead best when they serve first.

“There are the two parts of servant leadership,” explains Blanchard.  “First, the strategic or leadership part of servant leadership is identifying the target: the purpose of your business, your picture of the future, and the values that will guide your decisions.

“Once a target and vision are set, how do leaders execute or accomplish that vision? They must turn the traditional hierarchical pyramid upside-down to begin the operational or servant aspect of servant leadership. This is when you diagnose the individual or team in terms of their skills and motivation to get the job done. You identify the competencies and commitment that need to be developed.  Now your role as a leader is to provide the direction and support people can’t provide for themselves.

“Using a situational approach to leadership through SLII®, leaders must diagnose development levels, says Blanchard. “If individuals or teams are new to a task, the leader needs to provide direction.  If individuals or teams are lacking confidence or commitment, the leader needs to provide support.”

Blanchard points to the new chapter on Organizational Leadership, where the same concept can be applied to an organization as a whole.

“Organizations, like people, can be at different levels of development.  As a new C-level leader, you need to identify the organization’s development level, so you can apply the right leadership style.  We’ve seen too many situations where new CEOs—wanting to make a quick impact—enter organizations and immediately go to their favorite leadership style rather than to the one that is needed. We include two well-known case studies in the new chapter that show the benefits of a good match and the negative consequences of a misdiagnosis and bad match.

“We’ve all seen the negative consequences of poor leadership. Our goal with this book is to provide the next generation of leaders with a road map and curriculum for great leadership.

“This involves focusing on both people and results,” says Blanchard. “You cannot sustain performance over the long term with an either/or approach. The market demands innovative, agile solutions. This requires a both/and approach to management that places equal emphasis on results and the needs of people.  That’s the success formula today’s top companies are using to attract the best and brightest.

“When you lead at a higher level, people work together in a way that excites customers and gets results. Leadership is something you do with people—not to people,” Blanchard continues.  “And profit is the applause you get for creating a motivating environment for people so they will take good care of your customers.

“We hope to inspire leaders to go beyond short-term thinking and zero in on the right target. We want to teach leaders to empower people to unleash their incredible potential. Finally, we want to encourage leaders to ground their leadership in humility and focus on the greater good. It’s a tall order, but we think this book provides everything a leader needs to get started.”

Would you like to learn more about creating a higher level of leadership in your organization?  Join Ken Blanchard for a free webinar on January 23!

Ken Blanchard on 4 Keys to Leading at a Higher Level

January 23, 2019

9:00 a.m. Pacific / 12:00 p.m. Eastern / 5:00 p.m. UK Time / 5:00 p.m. GMT

In this webinar, best-selling business author Ken Blanchard shares key concepts from the newly released third edition of his book, Leading at a Higher Level. Ken will share a four-step approach to building an organizational culture that leads to engaged people and improves long-term business results.

Participants will explore:

How to set your sights on the right target and vision. A compelling vision tells your organization who you are (purpose), where you’re going (picture of the future), and what guides your behavior and decisions (values). Ken will share how a compelling vision creates a strong organizational culture where everyone’s interests and energy are aligned. This results in trust, customer satisfaction, an energized and committed workforce, and profitability.

How to treat your people right. Without committed and empowered employees, you can never provide good service. You can’t treat your people poorly and then expect them to treat your customers well. Ken will explain how treating your people right begins with good performance planning to get things going. It continues with managers who provide the right amount of direction and support that each individual employee needs to achieve those goals and performance standards.

How to treat your customers right. To keep your customers coming back today, you can’t be content with simply satisfying them. Instead, you must create raving fans–customers who are so excited about the way you treat them that they want to tell everyone about you. Ken will share how companies that create raving fans routinely do the unexpected on behalf of their customers, and then enjoy the growth generated by customers bragging about them to prospective clients.

How to have the right kind of leadership. The most effective leaders realize that leadership is not about them and that they are only as good as the people they lead. These leaders seek to be serving leaders, not self-serving leaders. Ken will explain how once a vision has been set, leaders move themselves to the bottom of the hierarchy, acting as a cheerleader, supporter, and encourager for the people who report to them.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how to create a culture where leaders who are grounded in humility and focused on the greater good can create organizations where both people and profits grow and thrive. This both/and philosophy, Blanchard contends, is the essence of leading at a higher level.

Use this link to register for 4 Keys to Leading at a Higher Level.  The event is free, courtesy of The Ken Blanchard Companies.

In his work consulting with business leaders at top organizations around the world, best-selling author Ken Blanchard explains that for best results, leaders need to combine a focus on people with a simultaneous focus on results.  It’s this one-two combination that delivers the greatest impact.

Managers need to have a shared responsibility with direct reports for achieving goals, explains Blanchard.  As an example, Blanchard points to the philosophy of Garry Ridge, CEO of WD-40 Company and Blanchard’s coauthor on the book Helping People Win at Work.  At WD-40, if a manager is considering an unfavorable review for a direct report, the first question asked of the manager is: “What have you done to help that person succeed?”

One of the benefits of this mutual accountability approach is that it gives leaders permission to step in when tough love is called for—for example, when performance or behavior is off-track.

Colleen Barrett, former president of Southwest Airlines, shares her organization’s philosophy about joint accountability: “We are very clear in telling our people what our expectations are. We hold them and ourselves accountable for meeting those expectations every day. Sometimes this means having a real heart-to-heart with someone and reminding them what our values are. If we have been intentional and firm in explaining what our expectations are, that gives us the opportunity to point to specific examples where the person hasn’t exhibited the required behaviors.”

Blanchard believes that this approach to management requires a special kind of leader—a person who sees leadership as an opportunity to serve instead of being served.

“We have all seen the negative consequences of self-centered leadership,” says Blanchard.  “Today we need a new leadership model—one that is focused on accomplishing the goals of the organization as a whole, with an equal emphasis on people and results. The best leaders identify the hidden strengths in people and organizations and lead them to a place they couldn’t get to on their own.  In this way, they truly serve.  And when the leader’s work is done—to paraphrase Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu—the people will say, ‘We did it ourselves.’

“The most effective leaders realize that leadership is not about them—they are only as good as the people they lead. It’s what servant leadership is all about. Once a vision has been set for the organization, servant leaders move to the bottom of the hierarchy, acting as cheerleaders, supporters, and encouragers for the people who report to them.

“The best organizations don’t see relationships and results as an either/or proposition,” says Blanchard. “They know if they focus on both people and profits, success will follow.”

Would you like to learn more about creating an others-focused culture in your organization?  Join Ken Blanchard for a free webinar on September 12,

Servant Leadership: 4 Keys to Leading at a Higher Level.

The event is free, courtesy of The Ken Blanchard Companies.

“Part of effective communication between manager and direct report is a mindset and part is a skillset. Both are required,” says Phillips. “It’s easy for managers to convince themselves they don’t have time for quality conversations, especially when they aren’t particularly interested in having them and don’t really know how to do it.

“Every manager I’ve worked with has so much of their own work to do all day, every day, that some can’t see their way clear to spending time with the folks who work for them—other than performance reviews, rushed interactions, or crises,” explains Phillips. “Conversations between these managers and their people are mostly manager-led directives of ‘this is what I want you to do; here’s how to do it.’ The manager is focused on getting stuff done and on what needs to happen—not on their direct reports’ career growth or needs.

“Unfortunately, when individual contributors in this scenario become managers, they treat people exactly the way they were treated. Sub-quality conversations become a cultural norm.”

The good news, according to Phillips, is that managers can learn to be more effective in their work conversations.

“If a manager has the right mindset and training, it’ll drive the right behavior,” says Phillips. She recommends focusing on three specific conversations to get started.

The Goal-Setting Conversation

“All good performance begins with clear goals. Effective goal-setting conversations begin with clarity—what to do, by when, and what a good job looks like,” says Phillips. “Be specific—and don’t be afraid to ask questions. It’s critically important to take the time to make sure both parties are interpreting the same words in the same way to avoid misunderstandings.

“Conversations and relationships can go sideways when people interpret things differently but don’t have a conversation about that interpretation. Never assume!”

This leads to the second important conversation at which managers need to excel—giving feedback.

The Feedback Conversation

“A friend of mine recently told me I tend to hijack conversations,” says Phillips. “The funny thing is, I was just about to tell her she does the same thing! We discovered that what I interpret as hijacking and what she interprets as hijacking are two different things.

“We talked about how, when she’s talking and pauses to think, I rush in to fill the empty space.  It goes back to my experience at home. In my family, you talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, and there are no pauses. So when my friend goes silent, I fill in the gap and start talking about something.

“Then I explained to her that I feel she hijacks the conversation when I tell her about something happening in my life and she immediately turns it into a discussion about something that’s happening in her life. It’s related, but it still feels to me like she is making it about her.

“Because we are committed to our friendship, we’re willing to discuss things that are uncomfortable and to consider each other’s point of view. That’s important at work, too. Managers and direct reports need to have the type of relationship where they can talk honestly. When a manager cares about a direct report as a human being—and vice versa—they build up an emotional bank account they can draw from.  That allows them to have difficult conversations when they need to.”

Sadly, the word feedback has a negative connotation in business today, says Phillips.

“People seldom think of feedback as praise or recognition. When people hear that word, they think at best it’s going to be constructive criticism. But it rarely feels constructive—it just feels like criticism.

“It’s another area where most managers don’t have the skills they need—especially feedback around performance improvement and redirection. Managers are so concerned about how someone might respond to feedback, they tend to avoid it altogether.”

One way managers can be more successful when preparing to give feedback is to make sure they are coming at it from the right place.

“Your feedback can’t be based on your own personal agenda,” says Phillips. “It has to be about helping other people be successful or otherwise improving the team. If you come from a personal agenda, your feedback will come across poorly.

“In my conversation with my friend, she gave me the feedback about the way I hijack conversations because she wanted our conversations to be better.  I knew that, and it gave me a chance to think about my behavior and run it over in my mind. That was a good learning for me—to recognize that behavior I picked up from my family might be misinterpreted when I’m dealing with other people.”

The One-on-One Conversation

Listening and focusing on the other person’s agenda is especially important when managers conduct one-on-one conversations with their direct reports, says Phillips.

“It’s easy to fall into the manager’s agenda, where one-on-ones can turn into a review of how the direct report is doing on each of their goals. At The Ken Blanchard Companies, we teach managers to schedule semi-monthly one-on-ones, where the agenda is driven by the individual contributor and what they need.”

The manager’s primary role is to listen and provide support, says Phillips.  Senior leaders are generally better at this than are new managers.

“At the senior levels of an organization, a VP typically will have more experience asking a direct report how things are going and finding out what the direct report needs to succeed. As you move down to the frontlines of an organization, managers are less experienced at taking the lead in a conversation like that.”

Especially at the frontlines, Phillips observes, managers and supervisors need training in how to have effective one-on-one conversations. Otherwise, the direct report is likely to default to the manager and ask the manager what they want talk about.

“It’s important to teach managers to ask open-ended questions about what an individual contributor’s needs are. Suppose the direct report comes into the meeting with a blank piece of paper and says, ‘What do you want talk about?’ The manager should take that opening and say, ‘Let’s talk about some things you are working on. Let’s list the three or four tasks, discuss your development level, and talk about how I can help you.’ Eventually, that direct report will become more proactive and learn to take the lead in those conversations.”

It’s a process and a joint responsibility—one where everybody benefits, says Phillips.

“Leaders influence through the power of their conversations. Train your managers—and your individual contributors—in the skills they need for more effective conversations at work. It’s one of the best ways to improve performance and satisfaction.”

Would you like to learn more about improving the quality and frequency of conversations in your organization?  Then join us for a free webinar!

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT 101: 3 CONVERSATIONS ALL MANAGERS NEED TO MASTER

Wednesday, August 1, 2018, 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time

Managers influence and lead through the words they use and the communication skills they apply. In this webinar, Blanchard senior consulting partner Ann Phillips will share the three types of conversations managers must know how to conduct.

1. The Goal-Setting Conversation—how to set goals collaboratively with a focus on motivation.
2. The Feedback Conversation—how to praise performance when it is aligned and how to redirect performance when it is off track.
3. The One-on-One Conversation—how to set aside time to hear from direct reports using high levels of inquiry and listening.

Don’t miss this opportunity to evaluate how your organization is currently addressing performance management. Learn the elements of masterful performance management and how to apply these principles in your own organization. Ann will share tips and strategies you can put into practice immediately. The event is free, courtesy of The Ken Blanchard Companies.

Register today!

Do’s and Don’ts When Creating a Servant Leadership Curriculum

You have to resist the temptation to treat a servant leadership initiative as just a training intervention, says Blanchard senior consulting partner Bob Freytag. “Instead see it, ideally, as a gradual way of being.”

You can check out the entire June issue here. Want Ignite delivered to your InBox each month?  You can subscribe for free using this link.

You have to resist the temptation to treat a servant leadership initiative as just a training intervention and instead see it, ideally, as a gradual way of being—a slow, consistent approach that embraces hiring practices, vision and values work, and teaching and encouraging the skills that allow leaders to enter into a deeper trusted partnership with their people.

“A mindset of partnership and safe conversations are the cornerstone of any successful program—but you need to have the vision and values in place first,” says Freytag. “You also need alignment at the top.”

In developing a holistic approach, Freytag points to research conducted by The Ken Blanchard Companies that looks at the connection between leader behaviors, impact on the work environment, and the way employees make decisions about whether or not they will support the mission of the company.

“People always have a choice —we call it discretionary effort,” says Freytag. “Compliance may work in the short term, but if you truly want the type of commitment and effort that sustains high performance, you have to tap into something more. You have to meet people’s needs. You have to make it safe for people to tell you what they need. It’s about reciprocity. If you can identify and help others take action on what they hold most dear, they will do the same for you.”

Freytag believes a partnering approach—managers and direct reports working together to achieve goals—is best.

“A partnering approach requires higher skill levels in conversation, listening, receiving and delivering feedback, and coaching—but it’s the only way I know to consistently deliver sustainable results and achieve high levels of performance with the workforce,” says Freytag.

Turning into people’s needs

Freytag says servant leadership is a partnership that makes it safe for people to express their needs on the job. It’s about leaders being approachable and turning toward their direct reports in a spirit of partnership to discuss those needs and provide support.

“As a leader, you must realize you don’t have to know it all. You must listen to learn—and make every person you talk to feel heard. When you do that, you set up a sense of approachability. People start bringing their concerns to you because they see you are not only well-intentioned but also available to listen. Your focus must be more on them and less on yourself. This is an essential of coaching. Servant leaders understand that they are always leading by example. Servant leaders also choose and behave so that they reflect the very behaviors they wish to see in the workforce.”

“When having discussions with some leaders in my past, I’ve had some give me their full attention and acknowledge my position only to let my suggestions fall on deaf ears and go nowhere. As a result, I didn’t really feel heard. The leaders I have had the highest affinity and respect for are those who were willing to have a discussion and to do more than just acknowledge my point of view. They got their arrogance and pride out of the way so they could hear my comments. They didn’t have to agree but they certainly made me feel heard.”

“As a servant leader, you have to raise your hand and show others it’s okay to raise their hand if they don’t know the answer. Leadership is about leading by example. You’re always doing that—it’s your choice whether the example is a good one or a bad one.”

Once you give yourself a heart check and are working on being more open, approachable, and available, Freytag says you’re ready to return to the basics of performance management—goal setting, coaching, and review—but with a different mindset.

“So what does it mean to serve—and what do you do differently? We use an operational leadership model called Situational Leadership^® II (SLII®.) SLII® teaches leaders first that people have needs and how to diagnose the different levels of needs people go through on various tasks and goals, and then how to help their people with those needs at their level.

“When aspiring servant leaders take a situational approach, they learn how to help their people grow and develop by meeting their needs for competence and autonomy. It’s a great model that lets leaders know where they are in a conversation. Using this approach puts the leaders focus on the needs of their people first and foremost.”

Freytag asks himself a simple question at the end of every performance related conversation to make sure he stays focused on meeting the needs of others.

“I ask myself: is this person more or less dependent on me on this topic as a result of this conversation? If they are more dependent on me, I’ve missed an opportunity. If they are less dependent on me, I’ve helped them grow and develop competence—which meets a basic psychological need. Now they feel more viable and are able to thrive. That’s a practical, real time, conversation-based perspective. It’s how you stay valuable to others.”

For leadership, learning, and talent development professionals considering a servant leadership initiative in their organizations, Freytag offers some caution on going too big at first.

“Don’t start with the training initiative right away. Start a little smaller—begin with vision and values. Where are you going? What’s important and why? Where are the gaps? I always guard against going too large or too fast with the aspiration of a large-scale training intervention, especially at the beginning of the conversation.”

Freytag also encourages senior leaders to walk the talk.

“It can be as simple as catching others doing things right. Develop recognition programs that recognize when others exhibit behaviors that serve the needs of others. Demonstrate that you value both relationships and results. Slowly you will plant the seeds and prepare the soil for a larger initiative. Once that gets rolled out through the ranks, you can focus on feedback, listening, and accountability.

“Now, piece by piece, you are building a servant leadership culture—and creating a work environment where people can grow and thrive.”

Would you like to learn more about creating a servant leadership curriculum for your organization? Then join us for a free webinar!

Creating a Servant Leadership Curriculum

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

9:00 a.m. Pacific Time

Join Blanchard senior consulting partner Bob Freytag as he explores how to create a servant leadership curriculum in your organization. In this special session designed for leadership, learning, and talent development professionals, you’ll learn:

• What servant leadership is—and what it isn’t
• Research on self-oriented vs. others-oriented leaders
• The power of vision, values, and purpose
• Identifying your Leadership Point of View
• Taking a 4-step head, heart, hands, and habits approach to skill development

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how to apply servant leadership principles to improve satisfaction, performance, and engagement in your company. You’ll walk away from this session energized and encouraged with fresh ideas to apply in your organization.

Register using this link!

That’s a lot of people!

I think the event is popular because people recognize we are in desperate need of a new leadership model—one that recognizes that people lead best when they serve first.

(For more information about the Livecast, keep reading.)

We have all seen the negative impact of self-serving leader behaviors. So why does this type of leadership continue to be so prevalent in today’s organizations?

In my experience, self-focused leadership is always caused by an overactive ego—one that is driven by comparative feelings of being either more than or less than others. Once you fall into one of these traps, you spend your time trying to either prove how smart you are or win the favor and approval of others.

One of my favorite books on this topic is Egonomics by David Marcum and Steven Smith. They identify four warning signs of an overactive ego that could undermine an executive’s career.

Seeking acceptance: These leaders become overly concerned with what others think, which keeps them from being true to themselves. They tend to play it safe, swim with the current, and restate others’ ideas instead of coming up with their own.

Showcasing brilliance: These leaders go beyond sharing their thoughts—they want their intellect to be the center of attention. When showcasing is allowed or encouraged, the casualty is collective wisdom. Paradoxically, the more leaders show off their brilliance, the less likely people are to listen.

Being comparative: Instead of focusing on their own personal best, these leaders feel a need to compare themselves with others. Excessive comparison turns colleagues into competitors—and competitors are not effective collaborators. Comparing strengths to weaknesses leads to either excessive self-confidence or feelings of inadequacy.

Being defensive: Instead of defending an idea, these leaders behave as if they are defending themselves personally. They focus on proving their case and deflecting alternative points of view. These leaders resist feedback and brush off mistakes to the degree that conversations with them become superficial.

The goal is not to remove ego from the equation completely—it is to keep it in balance. Marcum and Smith recommend that leaders develop their humility, curiosity, and veracity. The objective is to achieve and maintain an intelligent self-respect and genuine confidence.

In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins identifies another way leaders can keep their ego in check: focus on something bigger than themselves. Collins suggests a special type of leader who builds enduring greatness through a combination of personal humility and professional will. He describes this type of leader as a Level 5. Of special note is the underlying principle Collins sets forward—leaders at all levels need to put organizational, department, and team goals ahead of their personal agenda.

Don’t let your ego get in the way of your good intentions. Practice humility and self-acceptance. When you are able to love and accept yourself with all of your imperfections, you can do the same for others. You’ll be surprised at how well people will respond when you get your ego out of the way. People already know you’re not perfect—it’s when you become vulnerable enough to admit it that the magic will happen in both your personal and professional relationships. As Colleen Barrett, former president of Southwest Airlines and servant leader extraordinaire, says, “People will admire your strengths, but they will respect your honesty regarding your vulnerability.”

PS: Interested in learning more about servant leadership? Join us for the Servant Leadership in Action Livecast on February 28. The event is free courtesy of Berrett-Koehler Publishers and The Ken Blanchard Companies. Twenty servant leadership experts—authors, CEOs, and thought leaders—will share how servant leadership concepts work in their organizations and how you can be a servant leader in your workplace. You can learn more here!

Basically, skill acquisition of the new and the better is expected by the sponsoring organization.

But what executive coaches have always known is what Ken Blanchard and Renee Broadwell zero in on in their new book, Servant Leadership in Action: leaders need support to look at what they need to eliminate from their behavior. This radical assessment is a critical first thing to address on the path to effective leadership.

In examining the impediments to true leadership, Blanchard states that the essential problem is the leader’s ego, and a preoccupation with how one is perceived. Specifically, he identifies the leadership-limiting implications for leaders as either over-promoting or over-protecting themselves.

Executive coaches resoundingly agree with you, Ken Blanchard!

Truly effective leaders are focused on the needs of those they are leading, which is what Ken calls servant leadership. Working with a coach can expand a leader’s focus from narrow and self-centered to include and, in fact, prioritize a focus on the needs of others. This requires a priority step in the coaching process of the leader’s honest assessment of the extent to which they are over-promoting or over-protecting themselves.

A great coach will “hold the mirror” for the leader, and ask them to honestly answer questions such as:

• What have you learned about yourself recently that was surprising?
• What other surprises could be waiting for you?
• What do you do when you hear something new about yourself that you do not like?
• What do you most fear people will discover about you?
• What do you most want people to know about you?
• What does it cost you when you behave in ways that you do not understand and cannot control?
• What is the significance of a leader in the life of an employee?
• If you were exactly the leader you wanted to be, what would be the difference between that image and who you are right now?

Coaching questions like this ask executives to consider the role of ego in their behaviors. With honest self-assessment, the leader can see where false pride or self-doubt have derailed their effectiveness.

With increased knowledge of self, the mirror can be replaced by a window and the gaze of the leader can confidently focus on the needs of others. Expanding skills and leveraging underused strengths is possible now, as the leader’s focus is off of their ego maintenance and on to meeting the needs of their followers and the organization.

Editor’s Note: Would you like to learn more about implementing a servant leadership mindset and skill set in your organization? Join Ken Blanchard for a free online Servant Leadership in Action Livecast on February 28!

Blanchard will host 20 authors, CEOs, and thought leaders from all walks of life as they discuss strategies and offer encouragement for leadership, learning, and talent development professionals interested in discovering more about servant leadership concepts.

The event is free, courtesy of Berrett-Koehler Publishers and The Ken Blanchard Companies. Learn more here! 

About the Author

Mary Ellen Sailer, Ed.D., is a Coaching Solutions Partner with The Ken Blanchard Companies’ Coaching Services team. Since 2000, Blanchard’s 120 coaches have worked with over 15,000 individuals in more than 250 companies throughout the world. Learn more at Blanchard Coaching Services. And check out Coaching Tuesday every week at Blanchard LeaderChat for ideas, research, and inspirations from the world of executive coaching.

For Blanchard, servant leadership isn’t just a book or a nice-to-have management concept.  Instead, he sees it as a movement—a shift from leadership that is self-focused to one that is others-focused.

“The world is in desperate need of a new leadership model. Too many leaders have been conditioned to think of leadership only in terms of power and control. But there is a better way to lead—one that combines equal parts serving and leading.”

For this new book, Servant Leadership In Action, Blanchard invited more than 40 leaders from all types of organizations to share their experiences putting servant leadership concepts to work.

Blanchard points to companies like Southwest Airlines, Synovus Financial, WD-40 Company, and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen as companies who have used servant leadership principles to build strong internal cultures that bring out the best in people in service to customers.

Blanchard also shares stories of his own servant leadership journey, tracing it back to a meeting with Robert K. Greenleaf, who first coined the term “servant leadership” back in the early 1970s.

Blanchard believes that servant leaders are constantly trying to find out what their people need to perform well and to live according to their organization’s vision. Rather than wanting people to please their bosses, servant leaders want to make a difference in their employees’ lives and in their organizations. In top organizations, leaders believe if they do a good job serving their employees and showing they truly care about them, the employees will, in turn, practice that same philosophy with customers.

Maybe it is the CEO of your company, the principal of your local high school, or the president of your alma mater.

If I asked you about the specific qualities that made them successful, you’d probably tell me about their hard skills—teachable abilities such as vision and strategic thinking.

But I’ll bet you’d also tell me about their soft skills—interpersonal abilities such as listening, collaborating, and endorsing others.

Yes, the hard skills matter, but in my experience it is soft skills that make a leader memorable—more than their title, degree, acquisitions, or accomplishments. Let me give you an example.

Twenty five years ago, when I was pregnant with my first child, I attended a presentation by the famous Boston Children’s Hospital pediatrician Dr. T. Berry Brazelton. After delivering his speech to a packed house, Dr. Brazelton took questions from the audience. One woman had a question about breastfeeding her three-year-old child.

A sizeable number of audience members started to murmur regarding the woman’s choice to nurse a child that age. The negative energy unsettled the mother and she paused in the middle of her question. The silence seemed to last forever, but Dr. Brazelton kept his compassionate gaze upon her. It was as if they were the only two people in the room. He nodded for her to continue and she tentatively resumed speaking. When she finished her question, he answered her. He then took the next question.

Why has this stayed with me for twenty-five years? In that moment, I saw Dr. Brazelton as an awesome leader because he didn’t do anything. He cared enough to wait. He held the space for her. The woman at the microphone felt his connection—and I did, too, as an observer. He didn’t play to the audience. He didn’t diminish the woman or her question. And by doing so, Dr. Brazelton allowed me to observe the transformational power of caring by truly listening. That evening, I learned so much from him—far beyond the topic of his speech.

Obviously, listening, caring, and creating a connection are important to me as a coach. It was not Dr. Brazelton’s education or professorships or thirty-page resume that affected me the evening I heard his speech. I was transformed by seeing a self-aware individual care to hear the question of another. It was powerful—and it remains powerful all these years later.

As the years have passed, I recall that night often and use it as a calibration in my own work by asking myself: In what ways am I creating connections like that?

How about you? Taking the opportunity to continually improve is essential to becoming a better, more self-aware leader. Unlike a hard skill, we’re never finished when it comes to improving our ability to listen, to be present, and to validate others. Consider how you can model both the hard and soft sides of leadership in your conversations. You’ll help yourself and others in working together more effectively—and isn’t that wonderful!

About the Author

Mary Ellen Sailer, Ed.D., is a Coaching Solutions Partner with The Ken Blanchard Companies’ Coaching Services team. Since 2000, Blanchard’s 120 coaches have worked with over 15,000 individuals in more than 250 companies throughout the world. Learn more at Blanchard Coaching Services. And check out Coaching Tuesday every week at Blanchard LeaderChat for ideas, research, and inspirations from the world of executive coaching.

Drawing on some of the key points from the new revised and updated edition of her acclaimed Wall Street Journal bestseller, Wiseman explores why some leaders, whom she calls diminishers, drain capability and intelligence from their teams while others, multipliers, amplify it to produce better results.

Wiseman explains that leading others begins by leading self.  She shares stories from her early work career where she learned that she did her best work when she was being challenged and felt she was a little bit in over her head.

Wiseman also shares some of the top questions she has been asked since the initial release of the first edition of Multipliers. She discusses some of the ways to bring out the best in others—while avoiding diminishers—and especially how to avoid being an accidental diminisher yourself.

Wiseman’s advice to leaders is to be a multiplier of people by seeing your job as helping to bring out the potential in each person.  Accidental diminishing happens when well-meaning managers unknowingly micromanage or rescue their people and deprive them of a chance to learn and grow.

Be sure to listen to the very end of the interview to hear Ken Blanchard’s takeaways—what he learned and will remember from the interview.

Let’s give a nod to the great political leaders whose journeys of provoking and leading change on a massive scale provide worthwhile leadership lessons: King Solomon, Cleopatra, Queen Elizabeth, Abraham Lincoln, Mohandas Gandhi, Winston Churchill, and Martin Luther King, Jr., to name a mere handful.

Then we have to acknowledge the modern writers on leadership specifically: Drucker, Bennis, Maxwell, Blanchard.

But this is about the leadership books that have made the biggest difference for coaches. I have asked several of our Blanchard coaches and many of my peers, and here are the results:

Tony Klingmeyer, one of our Blanchard Master coaches, chose Management of the Absurd by Richard Farson. Tony says “It is wonderfully written, about many of the dilemmas and paradoxes our clients face when leading in organizations.” In this short and sweet book, Farson details the complexities of navigating human beings and debunks some well meaning management advice.

Renee Freedman, MCC, former director of The SupporTED Coaching Program, says her favorite book is The Leadership Dojo by Richard Heckler Strozzi. Renee says “Although there is much great guidance here, two primary things about this book sucked me in and made me fall in love with it: 1) it treats leadership as a somatic experience and that’s how I experience it; and 2) it has a 5-step leadership process of entering, centering, facing, extending, and blending—which I find extremely simple, effective, and trainable. It changed leadership for me from believing that only 1% of people can lead to understanding that anyone can lead, including me!”

Ann Marie Heidingsfelder picked Wooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organization by John Wooden.

Many coaches on a recent webinar chose Primal Leadership by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee. It is essentially the application of the concepts of emotional intelligence to leadership. How many clients really need to understand the fundamentals of self awareness, self regulation, awareness of others, and modifying self to be more effective with others? All of them.

Then there’s Leadership BS by Jeffrey Pfeffer. A recent addition to the canon, I personally love the devil’s advocate position the author takes against some of the baloney being peddled by leadership companies out there. No nonsense, brass tacks, and really useful for coaches helping clients navigate the insanity of the global business world. My particular favorite moment is when the author debunks the notion that leaders need to be “authentic.” This book is validating for natural subversives and required reading for idealists.

Why Smart Executives Fail by Sydney Finkelstein is one of my all time favorites and should be required reading for anyone aspiring to senior leadership—and those who coach them. You might think because it came out in 2003 that it is obsolete, but you would be wrong. Finkelstein examines some of the whopping business failures and teases out the mistakes that were made. These lessons are timeless. But my favorite chapter is “The Seven Habits of Spectacularly Unsuccessful People.” Just the title makes me laugh out loud.

Another great book is Coaching for Leadership by Goldsmith, Lyons, and McArthur. This one is kind of a no-brainer, because it is an anthology with writings from leadership and coaching experts with extremely targeted practical advice for all kinds of situations (understanding purpose, gender differences, working cross generationally and culturally, etc.). Of course, Goldsmith’s entire body of work is must-know—particularly What Got You Here Won’t Get You There—but this is a different resource altogether.

Finally, a crowd favorite: Leadership and Self-Deception from The Arbinger Institute. A fairly fast and easy read that outlines the effects of self-deception and how to fix it. The fundamental premise is that when we behave in ways that do not match our values, we betray ourselves.

How does that match up with your list? Any books you’d add? Just include them in the comments section!

“Managers need to know how to set clear goals, diagnose development levels, and determine the correct leadership style to bring out the best in people. That’s a foundational management framework,” Blanchard says.

“But after that, managers need to take a deeper dive into the leadership styles we identify as Coaching and Supporting.  We’ve found through our research that 75 percent of the time, these two leadership styles are needed most to match the development level of a direct report on a task.”

“Most experienced managers are comfortable with setting goals and holding people accountable for achieving them, but they still need to work on providing direction and support along the way.”

Blanchard recommends that learning and development professionals add a coaching module into their leadership training curriculum. In his experience, a coaching module provides managers with enhanced skills in three key areas: day-to-day coaching, conversations beyond performance management, and conversations that focus on career growth.

“A manager who uses the coaching process can better guide a direct report in identifying a problem and looking at options. A coaching mindset is also helpful in areas that aren’t specifically related to a task, such as conversations between manager and direct report that focus on career or personal development. Managers have to get the work done, but there is an implied expectation that a manager will also be ready to help an employee see the bigger picture regarding their development—both personally and professionally within the organization.”

Trust as a Foundation

Blanchard recommends that L&D professionals also look at adding a trust module into their curriculum. He highlights the four pillars of interpersonal trust taught in his company’s Building Trust program—being perceived as Able, Believable, Connected, and Dependable. Blanchard highlights the word perceived because trust is ultimately determined by each direct report’s perceptions and experiences of the manager’s behavior.

“Managers need to know how they stand in their employees’ eyes against these four components of trust. Good management starts with the realization that leadership is a partnership.  From there, you learn a mindset of service—because leadership is all about serving others in pursuit of common goals. Finally, you make sure your behaviors match your intentions. By participating in a curriculum that includes trust and coaching skills, you can learn to be the type of leader who always provides the right amount of direction and support and helps everyone win.”

To learn more about Blanchard’s recommendations for creating a complete leadership development curriculum, check out his full interview in the March issue of Ignite. Looking to learn more about bringing trust and coaching skills into your leadership development program? Join Blanchard for a free webinar he is hosting on March 29—Creating an Integrated Curriculum: Coaching, Trust, and Situational Leadership® II.

Building on the concepts he first explored in his best-selling first book,The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Lencioni recommends taking a moment to consider your own behaviors when working on a team. He teaches how using a Humble—Hungry—Smart model can help you and others become more effective team members.

Lencioni shares how leadership development experts can identify these traits in potential new hires along with sharing his own personal story of using these principles in his work and other areas of his life.

Be sure to listen to the very end of this 30-minute interview to hear Ken Blanchard share his key takeaways and the areas that he most plans to work on.

Listen to the podcast here:

Dear Madeleine,

I am a manager who has done well at a professional services company. I run a large and growing group of entry level professionals who manage logistics and customer service for the entire organization.

I absolutely love my job. I enjoy helping people be successful as well as being seen as someone who adds value to the company.

Here is my problem: our organization is growing so fast that other departments keep pinching my people!

We are dedicated to hiring from the inside and giving people the opportunity to grow, and I love seeing my team members succeed. But I’m getting tired of having to constantly hire and train new people. It’s happening so much that I’m starting to feel taken advantage of. What to do?

Robbed

Dear Robbed,

Congratulations! The reward for excellent work is … more work. And the reward for being a developer of people is watching them move up to bigger and better jobs. It stinks for you, but you might feel better about things if you shift your outlook. Otherwise, it won’t be long before your feeling of being taken advantage of deepens to resentment. And, as they say, resentment is like taking rat poison and waiting for the rat to die. Don’t let that happen!

Here are some ideas:

Spread your impact: You love helping people be successful so it is a good idea to stay focused on that. Be intentional about expanding the love. Maybe you could set up a little deal with your people—a kind of pay-it-forward plan. Tell them you will do everything in your power to develop them and help them achieve their professional goals. In return, you ask that they do the same with their own people once they start supervising others, so that your positive actions will continue on both in your organization and ultimately out in the world as your people grow and move to other employers.

Systematize your hiring: Accept the reality of your situation and get ahead of it. Become friends with your company’s recruiter if you aren’t already, and discuss the situation with that person. The constant call for new hires creates a need for you to keep a pipeline of potentials. Identify places where you can look for newbies entering the workforce—local schools, perhaps? Spread the word with career or job counselors that you hire regularly, so that they will send you their best candidates. Make your situation clear on your LinkedIn page—lots of people use LinkedIn to hunt for job opportunities. This way, you will have people coming to you and won’t feel like you are starting from scratch each time you need to fill a position.

Automate your onboarding: It is tedious to have to repeat the same new hire training over and over. Create a manual, make some videos, and delegate some of the sharing of details. And have the departing people train their replacement before they go.

Get Recognized: You may actually be the last person to figure out that this is happening, but if your people keep getting pinched it is because your colleagues are on to your talent! So talk to your boss about arranging an incentive and recognition plan for your extra work. Maybe you should get a bonus every time one of your people is plucked? Or if money isn’t a motivator, ask yourself what would be.

Finally, enjoy the fact that you are a force for good in the world—and that a huge group of people will always remember you as one of their best bosses.

Love, Madeleine

About the author

Madeleine Homan-Blanchard is a master certified coach, author, speaker, and cofounder of Blanchard Coaching Services. Madeleine’s Advice for the Well Intentioned Manager is a regular Saturday feature for a very select group: well intentioned managers. Leadership is hard—and the more you care, the harder it gets. Join us here each week for insight, resources, and conversation.

Got a question for Madeleine? Email Madeleine and look for your response here next week!

What she was encouraging me to do was to take a helicopter ride. Speaking metaphorically, I was spending all of my time driving furiously up and down the highways and byways of our business trying to get stuff done, but it caused me to spend a lot of time in traffic jams and the progress was slow. What I needed to do was periodically rise above the daily chaos and take a helicopter ride to gain a different perspective of our work.

Taking time to work on the business…taking a helicopter ride…has several key benefits that will accelerate your productivity and passion for your job.

1. It provides perspective — A few years ago I was painting several rooms in our house and I noticed a trend. The quality of workmanship of the trim at the top of the walls was less than stellar, but I hadn’t noticed it before because I rarely look up. That tends to happen when you live life at eye level. Spending all of your time working in the business can lead to tunnel vision and you run the risk of losing sight of the end goal. We can easily get distracted with fire fighting and stop paying attention to higher level priorities and metrics that drive the success of our organization. An occasional helicopter ride snaps you out of the day-to-day routine and forces you to view your business at a macro-level.
2. It relieves stress — Each of us has a different level for stress tolerance but we all have one thing in common—we will eventually crash and burn when our tank reaches empty. The daily grind of work can be stressful and it takes its toll. Studies have shown that workplace stress is far and away the number one stressor we face in life. It’s imperative for your health to find productive ways to relieve stress and taking the metaphorical helicopter ride is an excellent way to accomplish that goal. Regardless of how you do it – devoting an hour a week to strategic planning, one day a month, or having a periodic retreat with your leadership team – the important thing is you do it. Helicopter rides allow you to clear your mind of pressing priorities and helps you re-calibrate your approach to work.
3. It sparks creativity and problem solving — Many of my best ideas come to me when I’m away from the office. Whether I’m in the shower or cycling in the back country, the ideas flow when I’m relaxed and letting my mind wander. Helicopter rides afford you the opportunity to think in a different way, unencumbered by the routines and demands of the office. Constantly working in the business keeps your mind focused on the immediate and urgent problems, whereas working on the business allows you to creatively brainstorm new approaches to your challenges.
4. It nourishes your soul — Leaders set the tempo for their teams. If you want a team that is engaged, energized, and committed to their work, then you need to model that behavior. That means you’re constantly pouring yourself out for others. If you aren’t replenishing your own energy you won’t have any left to give others. Sometimes helicopter rides mean getting away from work entirely by taking a vacation. Work can wear us down to the point where we develop an attitude of cynicism or a defeatist mentality. If you notice yourself going down that road then it’s a clear warning sign your soul needs some nourishment.

As leaders we are often motivated to always be on the go…get things done…make stuff happen. There’s a time and place for all that activity, but there is also a time and place for rising above the day-to-day and taking a helicopter ride to look at your business, and your leadership practices, in a new and fresh way.

Feel free to leave a comment about your own strategies for taking helicopter rides.

Randy Conley is the Vice President of Client Services and Trust Practice Leader at The Ken Blanchard Companies. His LeaderChat posts appear the fourth or last Thursday of every month. For more insights on trust and leadership, visit Randy at his Leading with Trust blog or follow him on Twitter @RandyConley.

This Coaching Tuesday guest post is by Lynn McCreery.

In a world that sometimes seems increasingly divisive, wary, and isolating, I often think about the role coaches and leaders play in creating the proper environment for the people we lead and influence. We are there to help them feel safe and confident in knowing our primary focus is to help them—and the organization they serve—reach their potential.

I always smile when Ken Blanchard asks audiences “How many of you want to make the world a better place?” All the hands go up. “How many of you have a plan for making that happen?” All the hands go down. It may sound simple, but if we really want to make a difference in the lives of people around us, perhaps we need to start by looking at the quality of our personal interactions.

• First, consider if we are helping others move forward. Our goal is to help people grow; help them figure out what they need to be the best they can be; and help them unleash their power, their potential, and their passion about themselves and what they can accomplish. We want people to see not only the specifics of what they are trying to accomplish but also the relevance and attainability of the goal. We also want them to examine their motivation. Where do they want to be—and how do they get there?
• Second, are we listening? Do we listen with the intent to understand and to be influenced? Do we explore and ask questions to discover the real issues? Do we acknowledge what we have heard before jumping in with what we think? Coaching and leading are all about helping people discover their capabilities and what they need to move forward.
• Third, let’s all take a closer look at the language we use when we try to help. Are we being specific and non-judgmental? Often times, we use words and phrases that sound a lot like judgment and evaluation: You don’t take initiative. You don’t put in enough effort. You don’t take ownership. Sometimes we make matters worse by suggesting non-specific ways to change, such as You need to be more accountable. You need to improve your leadership. You need to get better. Evaluating someone’s performance without providing a clear picture of how they can improve leads only to defensiveness.
• Fourth, do we as leaders and coaches always affirm the other person? Do we convey that we value and respect each person we are talking to? Do they leave the conversation knowing some actions to take and believing more in their ability to improve and achieve their goals? Do they walk away with an enhanced sense of self?

Many people will tell you that the world is in need of a new leadership model. I agree. The question is whether we have a plan for making that happen. Maybe if our actions and words convey that we listen, care, and are available for support, we can help our part of the world move forward. Your thoughts?

About the Author

Lynn McCreery is a Senior Consulting Partner with The Ken Blanchard Companies.

For many of us, true leadership is about being purpose and values driven and putting the needs of those we lead above our own.  We want the heart of a servant leader to be at the core of how we live our lives.

Sometimes it is easy for us to assume that because we want to serve, that we know how to serve.  In our desire to help others we sometimes do not take time to understand what they really need.

Let me give you a personal example. Years ago I was in a conversation with my husband about his job.  He was very frustrated and unhappy.  Trying to be helpful, I went into my consultant role offering what I thought were good suggestions.  His response to me was, “You teach everyone else to listen, why don’t you.”  Ouch—obviously not what he needed even though I was acting with a servant heart.

In Situational Leadership® II (SLII®) we teach leaders how to diagnose the development level of individuals then adjust their leadership style to best serve the needs of the people they work with. We learn that if we go too fast or try to control what someone else does we become, in essence, a micromanager.  Because someone seems to be unsure or has a loss of confidence, we step in thinking we know the answers.  Instead of helping, this often ends up further eroding the other person’s confidence in themselves and their trust in us.  Or we just plain make them mad, like I did with my husband.

To get better at turning our good intentions into effective actions, here are three action steps you can take to make sure your actions are aligned with your intentions.

1. Listen more. Listen with the intent to learn and hear what is truly being said and requested. Be attentive with your body language and/or tone as you acknowledge what you have heard.

2. Take time to fully understand. Explore and ask questions to make sure that you truly understand what the person is talking about. Make sure you are not making assumptions and focusing on what you think they are saying, rather than on what they are truly saying.  Always acknowledge the other person’s point of view.

3. Ask for permission to offer direction. This may be the most critical. Don’t assume you know all the answers.  If you have ideas or thoughts about what the person might do, ask them if it is OK for you to make a suggestion.  They may need to just vent and not be looking for advice at all.

Being a servant leader requires action.  It is about what we do and what we say in relationship to others. In my husband’s case he already knew what he wanted to do.  He did not need me giving him advice.  He just needed to vent. So whether at work or home, when we think we are serving, maybe it is time to just listen and discover what will really assist the other person in meeting their needs. Thus we turn a “serving heart” into “serving actions.”

About the Author

Lynn McCreery is a Senior Consulting Partner with The Ken Blanchard Companies.

As a professional coach, I work with leaders on various skills such as increasing leadership effectiveness, motivating team members, and accomplishing team goals.  The coaching discussions often center on how leaders can get team members to do what they need them to do.

Consider these serving leader approaches to five common leadership situations. Would direct reports identify you as a servant leader? (Keep in mind that people can only see your behaviors—not your intentions.)

Providing direction.  Servant leaders take responsibility for providing people with clear direction on goals, expectations, and tasks. They recognize next steps that may be clear to them may not be as clear to others.  They take the time to explain or reset vision, mission, and goals as needed.

Offering ongoing support. Servant leaders recognize that implementation is achieved through partnering and collaborating with others. A serving leader makes time to provide the day-to-day coaching people need to succeed.

Giving credit where credit is due.  Servant leaders recognize that effective leadership is not about them—it’s about giving others what they need to succeed.  As Ken Blanchard and Norman Vincent Peale stated in their book The Power of Ethical Management, “People with humility don’t think less of themselves; they just think about themselves less.”  Be quick to give others credit and praise when it is deserved.

Valuing both results and relationships. Servant leaders keep results and relationships in balance.  Through strong relationships, clear goals, and high performance standards, they lead at a higher level.

Making growth opportunities available for direct reports. Servant leaders use their position power to provide growth and advancement opportunities for others. They develop team members by bringing out the best in them.  They also provide feedback on a regular basis, which leads to continuous improvement for increased effectiveness.

Servant leadership is about serving others. Behaviors that align with a servant leader approach create enthusiastic followers, ethical conduct, high quality customer service, individual growth and development, and company success.

I challenge you to ask your direct reports for feedback on your leadership approach.  When leaders serve others, everyone succeeds!

About the Author

Terry Watkins is a coaching solutions partner with The Ken Blanchard Companies Coaching Services team. Since 2000, Blanchard’s 130 coaches have worked with over 14,500 individuals in more than 250 companies throughout the world. Learn more at Blanchard Coaching Services. And check out Coaching Tuesday every week at Blanchard LeaderChat for ideas, research, and inspirations from the world of executive coaching.

Now ask that same learning professional a second question: “What common mistakes do good leaders make?”

That’s exactly the question that was asked of a network of executive coaches affiliated with The Ken Blanchard Companies. More than 40 coaches from around the world responded.

And while their answers varied depending on their experience and the different cultures they worked in, three common themes emerged. The biggest mistakes good leaders make are:

• An over-focus on the people aspect of the business at the expense of operational necessities
• Trying to solve all of the problems of their people or doing the work themselves
• Neglecting personal growth

An over-focus on the people aspect. In describing behaviors they had seen in their work with executives, the coaches shared several examples. These typically included some form of avoiding hard conversations that need to occur—either by not setting clear expectations or steering clear of difficult feedback. The net result of this conflict-avoiding behavior is a culture that accepts mediocre performance. The key, according to the coaches, is maintaining the correct balance between meeting the needs of people and those of the organization.

Trying to solve all of the problems of their people. Mary Ellen Sailer, a coach who participated in the survey, points out that leaders have a hard time letting go of their identity of being the expert. As she explains, “The leader is often the leader because they are the expert. They are accustomed to being the smartest person in the room. It can be a real challenge to control a lifelong habit of being the solver of all problems.”

Unfortunately, this approach deprives direct reports of the opportunity to grow. It also inadvertently sends a message that the leader doesn’t trust people to solve their own problems.  The coaches suggest leaders find moments when they can let their people figure things out for themselves—even if they do it a little differently from the way the leader might.  It keeps things off the leader’s plate and provides employees with often welcome challenges.

Neglecting personal growth. The third mistake the coaches identified was how easy it is for smart, caring leaders to forgo their own development. When leaders put their own growth on the back burner, it decreases personal engagement and effectiveness and serves as a poor role model for others. This can take many forms, including behaviors where the leader stops building and nurturing relationships in the organization, stops paying attention to what is going on politically in the organization and in the industry, loses objectivity and focus by getting too much in the weeds of day-to-day business, or loses sight of their own needs. Any of these well-intentioned sacrifices can show up later as health problems or stress-related behaviors.

A leader who stops growing unintentionally decreases their value to the organization and its people. Giving up the time to recharge and create some white space in their schedules can result in tunnel vision, lack of innovation, and poor problem solving skills.

Helping Others Begins by Helping Yourself

Good leaders can be harder to help than bad leaders. When using standard measures, they can seem to be doing everything right. They are generally self aware and focused on meeting the needs of their people, and they generally have a successful track record. But that doesn’t mean they are as effective as they could be. With a little bit of extra help, by paying special attention to their unique problems, learning professionals can help good leaders continue to grow and build individual, team, and organization competency.

About the Author

Madeleine Blanchard is the co-founder of The Ken Blanchard Companies’ Coaching Services team.  Since 2000, Blanchard’s 130 coaches have worked with over 14,500 individuals in more than 250 companies throughout the world. Learn more at Blanchard Coaching Services. And check out Coaching Tuesday every week at Blanchard LeaderChat for ideas, research, and inspirations from the world of executive coaching.

Dear Madeleine,

I have been managing people for a couple of years now. I enjoy it, and the people who work for me are thriving. My problem is all the new technologies in my field.

I have a good business sense (recent MBA graduate) and I am comfortable with technology but as I continue to hire and manage people with advanced skills, I realize I haven’t the slightest idea how to help them execute their tasks—and I certainly wouldn’t be able to do the job myself in a pinch.

My newer staff members are young and, I feel, much smarter than me in a lot of ways. Is this normal? I feel like I’m out of my league. —Out of My League

Dear Out of My League,

Yes. This is normal. Do you think your CEO would have the vaguest idea how to do your job? No—she is focused on her job and using her skills and strengths to lead the company. That’s what you’re doing, too—although I can relate to your discomfort. As you ascend to senior leadership this is bound to happen. All the new technology makes the difference in skill sets stand out in stark relief.

The most successful managers hire the smartest, most talented, skilled people they can find, even at the risk that their employees will be smarter than they are. It takes a healthy ego to do this! Managing others and helping teams get the best results is a valuable skill in its own right, and your admission of your own lack of knowledge is a testament to your humility and self awareness.

Jim Collins conducted research (in his book Good to Great) about what makes a great leader and he found that it is a combination of humility and fierce resolve. Your concern that your people are better and smarter than you means you are on the right track. So, how do you manage your own discomfort? Here are a couple of ideas.

• There is no shame in asking your people to give you a little tutorial so you understand their work better.
• If that doesn’t feel right, invest some time on Lynda.com or even on YouTube to give yourself an idea of what is going on.
• Make sure the people in your group are properly cross trained so that someone else can pinch hit if you unexpectedly need backup.
• Focus on constantly upgrading your skills for the jobs you are responsible for—you can be a role model for constant development.
• Breathe and remember that you can’t be good at everything—that’s why the best work gets done in teams.

Try not to worry too much, Out of My League. If your people are thriving it’s because you’re a good manager. Just keep your eye on maintaining that environment, where your people continue to shine and grow. That’s the job that matters most to you.

About the author

Madeleine Homan-Blanchard is a master certified coach, author, speaker, and cofounder of Blanchard Coaching Services. Madeleine’s Advice for the Well Intentioned Manager is a regular Saturday feature for a very select group: well intentioned managers. Leadership is hard—and the more you care, the harder it gets. Join us here each week for insight, resources, and conversation.

Got a question for Madeleine? Email Madeleine and look for your response here next week!

“Think of Yelp or TripAdvisor,” says Kathy Cuff, coauthor of Legendary Service: The Key Is to Care. “You can go online and read hundreds of experiences other people have had with individual employees at thousands of restaurants, resorts, and other companies. What does this mean to you? It means that one customer’s good or bad experience with one of your employees can become front page news for other prospective customers at precisely the time they are considering buying a product or service from your company.

In an interview for this month’s issue of Blanchard Ignite! Cuff explains that, “Today’s customer has a big megaphone in that small mobile device and isn’t afraid to use it. Here’s an example: I was on a flight recently that was delayed because of weather. Finally, at midnight, the flight was canceled. As the airline was trying to rebook all of us, a young man behind me logged into Twitter and started tweeting about how frustrated he was with the airline and how horrible they were.

“I got on standby for the first flight out in the morning because I had mileage status with that airline, but the young man was rerouted on a later flight and wouldn’t get to his destination until 24 hours later. I settled into a chair to take a nap until morning.

“When I got in line for my flight, I was surprised to see this man at the gate. I asked him what had happened and he said, ‘I’m on this flight—my tweets did it.’ So apparently as a result of the man’s incessant negative tweeting about his experience, the airline put him on the same flight I was on.”

Any experience a customer has with one employee suddenly can become accessible across the entire mobile platform, says Cuff. This means that now more than ever, every employee has to be responsible for customer service—and that can only happen if you build service into the culture of your company.

“The best companies exhibit a service mindset throughout the entire organization. It’s not just a frosting of friendly people on the front lines,” explains Cuff. It’s baked into the entire organization.

“It’s great when an organization has good people dealing with external customers on the front lines. The problem arises when those people need help and are not supported by their coworkers or managers. Colleagues don’t return phone calls or are short with each other, or managers are unresponsive.

“If you want a true customer focused organization, start internally. You can’t just have a few people out there serving the customer. Today’s customers interact with all aspects of your organization and you need to be strong at all levels. Directly or indirectly, everyone needs to be serving someone.”

Done well, performance management is a partnership where managers and direct reports work together to set goals, work through challenges, and celebrate accomplishments.  A leader provides increased direction when a person is new to a task, extra support when they are learning, and gradual autonomy as they become skilled and experienced.

A short 3-minute video just released by The Ken Blanchard Companies shares that this idea is much easier in theory than it is in practice. Drawing on the Blanchard Companies’ experience of working with hundreds of thousands of leaders over a 30-year period, the video identifies that 54 percent of leaders use only one style with all members of their team—regardless of an individual’s demonstrated competence and commitment on a task.

As a result, these leaders are very visible to the impacted direct report, who either experiences a micromanaging leader who provides too much direction on tasks where the person is competent or an absentee leader who is never around when challenges come up on tasks where the person is inexperienced.

When asked how they feel as a result of being either oversupervised or undersupervised, people say they are angry, disappointed, frustrated, sometimes overwhelmed, confused, resentful — reactions that can get in the way of someone showing up as the best contributor they can be.

The Blanchard video makes the case that a good leader is able to accurately diagnose a team member’s needs for direction and support and then apply the right leadership style for that person, in that moment, on that specific goal or task.

It’s a good thing to be front and center in the minds of your employees during those times when they are unfamiliar with a task and need extra direction and support. But it’s also a good thing to be able to fade into the background and give people autonomy when they have earned it by showing competence at a task. It’s great way to help people grow and develop in a self-directed, satisfying, and enduring manner.

Know when your people need you to be in the spotlight with them—and when it’s best to take a step back and let them shine on their own.

The top industries for service: Televisions & Video Players (score 86), Credit Unions (score 85), Internet Retail, Internet Brokerage, Full-Service Restaurants, Automobiles & Light Vehicles, Personal Care & Cleaning Products, and Soft Drinks (6-way tie at 82)

The bottom three for service: Federal Government (score 64), Internet Service Providers (score 63), Subscription Television Service (score 63)

And while industry averages are important benchmarks, the more important question is “Where do you currently stand with your customers?”

For Kathy Cuff, asking that question is the start of doing something about it. Cuff is co-author, together with Ken Blanchard and Vicki Halsey, of the book Legendary Service: The Key Is to Care.  Cuff believes that improving customer service is a five-step process that begins with identifying what an ideal culture of service looks like and then taking action steps to turn that vision into a reality.

Looking to improve your customer service scores? Here are five areas to explore:

1. Ideal Service. Do employees recognize the importance of service and focus on performing tasks with the customer in mind?
2. Culture of Service. Do employees use the organization’s vision and values to guide decisions in daily interactions with customers?
3. Attentiveness. Do employees treat internal colleagues the same way they treat paying customers? Do all personnel strive to create lasting and positive first impressions?
4. Responsiveness. Do employees demonstrate a willingness to serve and maintain a positive attitude even in difficult situations?
5. Empowerment. Do employees look for ways to do their job better, provide the “extra touch” for customers, and share ideas for process improvement?

A little bit of work in each of these five areas can have big results. Customers notice when organizations truly care and value their business.

You can learn more about this philosophy in Legendary Service: The Key Is to Care—or check out a webinar Cuff is conducting on 5 Keys to Creating A Customer-Focused Company.  Even if you can’t attend live, the event will be recorded and all registrants will receive a copy of the presentation and handout. Learn more here.

We tend to make things more complicated than they need to be and that’s definitely true in the field of leadership. To prove my point, go to Amazon.com and search their book listings for the word “leadership” and see how many returns you get (but wait until you finish reading this article!). What did you find? It was 138,611 as of the writing of this post.

Browsing the titles of some popular best-sellers would lead you to believe that in order to be a successful leader you just need to find the magical keys, take the right steps, follow the proper laws, figure out the dysfunctions, embrace the challenge, ascend the levels, look within yourself, look outside yourself, form a tribe, develop the right habits, know the rules, break the rules, be obsessed, learn the new science, or discover the ancient wisdom. Did I say we like to over-complicate things?

What if successful leadership isn’t really that complicated? What if I told you there was one thing…not a title, power, or position…that determined whether people followed your lead? What if you understood there was one aspect of your leadership that was a non-negotiable, must-have characteristic that must be in place for people to pledge you their loyalty and commitment? What if you knew there was one element that defined how people experienced you as a leader? Would you be interested? Can it really be as simple as one thing?

That one thing is trust. It’s the foundation of any successful, healthy, thriving relationship. Without it, your leadership is doomed. Creativity is stifled, innovation grinds to a halt, and reasoned risk-taking is abandoned. People check their hearts and minds at the door, leaving you with a staff who has quit mentally and emotionally but stayed on the payroll, sucking precious resources from your organization.

However, with trust, all things are possible. Energy, progress, productivity, and ingenuity flourish. Commitment, engagement, loyalty, and excellence become more than empty words in a company mission statement; they become reality. Trust has been called the “magic” ingredient of organizational life. It simultaneously acts as the bonding agent that keeps everything together as well as the lubricant that keeps things moving smoothly. Stephen M.R. Covey likes to say that while high trust won’t necessarily rescue a poor strategy, low trust will almost always derail a good one. Trust is essential to your success as a leader.

But trust doesn’t come easy and it doesn’t happen by accident. It’s advanced leadership and requires you to work at it each and every day. It starts by you being trustworthy. The ABCD Trust Model is a helpful tool to help you understand the four elements of being a trustworthy leader.

Leaders build trust when they are:

Able—Being Able is about demonstrating competence. One way leaders demonstrate their competence is having the expertise needed to do their jobs. Expertise comes from possessing the right skills, education, or credentials that establish credibility with others. Leaders also demonstrate their competence through achieving results. Consistently achieving goals and having a track record of success builds trust with others and inspires confidence in your ability. Able leaders are also skilled at facilitating work getting done in the organization. They develop credible project plans, systems, and processes that help team members accomplish their goals.

Believable—A Believable leader acts with integrity. Dealing with people in an honest fashion by keeping promises, not lying or stretching the truth, and not gossiping are ways to demonstrate integrity. Believable leaders also have a clear set of values that have been articulated to their direct reports and they behave consistently with those values—they walk the talk. Finally, treating people fairly and equitably are key components to being a believable leader. Being fair doesn’t necessarily mean treating people the same in all circumstances, but it does mean that people are treated appropriately and justly based on their own unique situation.

Connected—Connected leaders show care and concern for people, which builds trust and helps to create an engaging work environment. Leaders create a sense of connection by openly sharing information about themselves and the organization and trusting employees to use that information responsibly. Leaders also build trust by having a “people first” mentality and building rapport with those they lead. Taking an interest in people as individuals and not just as nameless workers shows that leaders value and respect their team members. Recognition is a vital component of being a connected leader, and praising and rewarding the contributions of people and their work builds trust and goodwill.

Dependable—Being Dependable and maintaining reliability is the fourth element of trustworthiness. One of the quickest ways to erode trust is by not following through on commitments. Conversely, leaders who do what they say they’re going to do earn a reputation as being consistent and trustworthy. Maintaining reliability requires leaders to be organized in such a way that they are able to follow through on commitments, be on time for appointments and meetings, and get back to people in a timely fashion. Dependable leaders also hold themselves and others accountable for following through on commitments and taking responsibility for the outcomes of their work.

Trust – the one requirement for successful leadership. Do you have it?

Randy Conley is the V.P. of Client Services and Trust Practice Leader at The Ken Blanchard Companies and his LeaderChat posts normally appear the fourth or last Thursday of every month. For more insights on trust and leadership, visit Randy at his Leading with Trust blog or follow him on Twitter @RandyConley.

As different as executive and leadership presence can seem, I believe there is great overlap between them. Key characteristics of both are authenticity, communication, emotional intelligence, the ability to connect with others, and the ability to be present. These qualities are needed for both executive presence and leadership presence to be used effectively.

Developing Your Leadership Presence

There are certainly a great number of books and columns that will help you on your outward executive presence, but here are three questions that will help you develop the internal side of the equation.

1. Are you here to serve or to be served? This is one of the most important questions for leaders to ask themselves. Your answer will drive your behavior and how you interact with people. If you are here to serve, your focus is on supporting others rather than using them to elevate yourself. Servant leaders have a better track record of success than ego-driven leaders.

2. What are your leadership beliefs and values? Your beliefs and values also drive your behavior. What is your belief about leadership and directing others? Leaders are more successful when they value things such as connecting personally and collaborating with people—habits that lead to better relationships and partnerships.

3. Do you effectively build trust in others? A solid foundation of trust allows for creativity, productivity, efficiency, and effective two-way communication. Here are four questions that can serve as a reminder. Are you able—do you demonstrate competence? Are you believable—do you act with integrity? Are you connected—do you care about others? And are you dependable—do you maintain reliability? (You can learn more about this ABCD trust model in this Blanchard white paper on Building Trust.)

Leadership is an inside-out proposition. Outward appearances are important—but gaining clarity on your values and beliefs, your intentions, and who you want to be as a leader will crystallize your internal executive presence. If you get it right on the inside, you will get it right on the outside. The most effective leaders have executive presence and leadership presence.

About the Author

Terry Watkins is a coaching solutions partner with The Ken Blanchard Companies Coaching Services team. Since 2000, Blanchard’s 130 coaches have worked with over 14,500 individuals in more than 250 companies throughout the world. Learn more at Blanchard Coaching Services. And check out Coaching Tuesday every week at Blanchard LeaderChat for ideas, research, and inspirations from the world of executive coaching.

Her break turns out to be a permanent relocation to sunnier climes while Horton sits on the egg through wind, rain, and snow, faithfully caring for Mayzie’s baby.

Because it is a children’s book, Horton ends up being rewarded, but in real life, sometimes it can feel like “no good deed goes unpunished.”*

Many managers I work with end up taking on their people’s work simply because they are nice. When pressed, here are some reasons they give—followed by a coaching question I might ask.

Client Response 1: “I don’t think it’s fair to ask people to stay late or work on weekends.”  Coaching Question 1: Perhaps not, but is it fair that you are doing it?

Client Response 2: “I’m so familiar with the task that it will take me far less time than it will take him.” Coaching Question 2: How will he ever get as good and fast as you if you won’t let him figure it out?

Client Response 3: “My people are already overwhelmed with the new project.” Coaching Question 3: There may be some overstating on this score. How long has that excuse been milked?

Some managers take the message of being the servant leader so much to heart that they end up working a lot harder than any of their team members. And not to be cynical, but some employees will take advantage of the situation if they know their manager is a really nice person.

Are you Horton? Cut it out.

Chances are, someone has you pegged for a softie and is taking full advantage of it. It’s also possible that by being too patient and taking on more work than you should, you are thwarting your employees’ development. There is a huge gap between being such a big meanie that you burn people out and being such a softie that your employees are never challenged to rise to the occasion, learn new things, and become more efficient. A couple of rules of thumb to follow:

• Set a standard for how much work, outside of regular work hours, is acceptable to you and check in with individual team members to assess how much is acceptable to each of them. Make group standards and your expectations crystal clear if there will be times when all team members will need to put in a few late days or extra hours on weekends.
• Keep everything up front and transparent and make sure everyone is carrying a fairly equal load. The more that things are above board and clear, the less likely it is for one or two people to fly under the radar and get away with doing less.
• Keep careful track of who goes above and beyond, and publicly acknowledge and reward them when they do.
• Develop your team—specifically so that you can use the right leadership style to develop each of your team members to do tasks that are a no-brainer for you.
• If you can’t get the work done within your own and your group’s standards, this is an indication that you have a different problem to solve; for example, perhaps you are not setting limits with your own boss.

Help yourself and your people by setting clear expectations, and then promoting growth, transparency,and fairness.

*Attributed to Oscar Wilde and Clare Booth Luce

About the author

Madeleine Homan-Blanchard is a master certified coach, author, speaker, and cofounder of Blanchard Coaching Services. Madeleine’s Advice for the Well Intentioned is a regular Saturday feature for a very select group: well intentioned managers. Leadership is hard, and the more you care, the harder it gets. Join us here each week for insight, resources, and conversation. Previous posts in this series:

Are You A Workplace Freedom Fighter?

Empowerment—One Time When It’s Not a Good Idea

Are You TOO Nice? 4 Ways to Be Compassionate and Fair

Delaying Feedback? No News Is Not Always Good News

Providing Clear Direction—You’re Not Being Bossy; You’re Being A Boss

Setting Boundaries: 7 Ways Good Managers Get It Wrong

The Well-Intentioned Manager’s New Year’s Resolution: Have More Fun

The Top Three Mistakes Good Managers Make

Managing Polarities: A Key Skill for the Well-Intentioned Manager

Power accompanies leadership. No matter how lofty or humble your title, whether you manage 3 people or 3,000, regardless if you lead a girl scout troop or you’re the CEO of a multi-million dollar company, you will be faced with choices on how to use your power. And the way you wield your leadership power will determine whether or not people choose to trust and follow you.

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” ~ Lord Acton

You’re probably familiar with the above quote from Lord Acton. Unfortunately, there is much truth to his quote. One only has to look at the news headlines for the latest example of a leader who has misused power for his/her own personal gain.

A good friend of mine, who has spent his entire career developing other leaders, once shared a keen observation with me. He said that people who need to be in power probably shouldn’t be. His experience has been that those people who craved power, who had an inordinate desire to be in control, were the ones most likely to use power in unhealthy ways.

Of course my friend’s statement caused me to wrestle with the concept of power. Do I need to be in power? If so, why? Is it because of ego, status, or enjoyment of the privileges it affords? Is it a bad thing to want to be in power? Would I be unhappy or unfulfilled if I wasn’t in power? One question begets the next.

As I’ve pondered this question, the following ideas have become clearer to me:

1. The best use of power is in service to others. Being a servant leader, rather than a self-serving leader, means giving away my power to help other people achieve their personal goals, the objectives of the organization, and to allow them to reach their full expression and potential as individuals. I love the servant leadership example of Jesus. When two of his disciples came to him seeking positions of power and authority, he chastised them and challenged them to remember that “Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave.” (Mt. 20:26-27) One of the paradoxes of leadership is that by placing others before ourselves, and using our power to serve, rather than dominate, actually brings us more power, respect, commitment and loyalty.

2. Followership is just as important, if not more so, than leadership. Learning to be a good follower is an essential component of being a wise leader who uses power appropriately. A person who learns to submit to the authority of others, collaborate with teammates, and sees first-hand the good and bad effects of the use of power, will have a greater appreciation for how power should be used in relationships. We can all probably think of examples of people who were bestowed leadership positions without ever being a follower, who then went on a “power trip” and showed just how ill-prepared they were to handle the power given them. Followership is the training ground for leadership.

3. The ego craves power. My leadership experiences have taught me that I need to be on guard to keep my ego in check. The ego views power as the nectar of the gods, and if leaders aren’t careful, their ego will intoxicate itself with power. In Ken Blanchard’s Servant Leadership program, he does an “Egos Anonymous” exercise that helps leaders come to grips with the power of the ego to make them self-serving leaders rather than servant leaders. Effective leadership starts on the inside and that means putting the ego in its proper place.

4. Power is held in trust. The power I have as a leader is something entrusted to me, both from my boss who put me in this position and by my followers who have consented to follow my lead. This power is not mine to keep. I’m a temporary steward of this power as long as I’m in my leadership role and it could be taken away at anytime should something drastic change in the relationship with my boss or followers. We’re all familiar with “consent of the governed,” the phrase that describes the political theory that a government’s legitimate and moral right to use state power over citizens can only be granted by the consent of the citizens themselves. The same concept applies to organizational leadership, and the minute our people no longer support our leadership, we have a serious problem.

So, do I need to be in power? I don’t think I need it to be fulfilled in my work, but it’s a question I haven’t yet fully answered. Do I like having power? Yes, I do. It allows me to help others in significant and positive ways. But if I’m being honest, I have to admit that I struggle with the shadow side of power and the temptation to use it to feed my ego.

Let me ask you the question: Do you need to be in power? Feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Randy Conley is the V.P. of Client Services and Trust Practice Leader at The Ken Blanchard Companies and his LeaderChat posts normally appear the fourth or last Thursday of every month. For more insights on trust and leadership, visit Randy at his Leading with Trust blog or follow him on Twitter @RandyConley.

Leaders can find countless ways to serve the people they lead, and they should always be on the lookout for new and different ways to do this. However, there are at least five critical ways leaders must serve if they want to be as effective as possible.

1. See the Future. The ability to envision and communicate a compelling picture of a preferred future. Leaders must help the people they lead see the destination, as well as the advantages of going there. Everybody needs to see who they are, where they are going, and what will guide their journey.
2. Engage and Develop Others. Recruiting and selecting the right people for the right job while creating an environment where people wholeheartedly invest themselves in achieving the vision. Blanchard and Miller believe that engaging is a two-part proposition. The first part is to recruit and select the right people for the right job. That means to get the right players on the team. The second part is to do whatever it takes to engage the hearts and the heads of the people. Historically, the authors point out that many leaders have employed the hands and nothing else—and that’s probably where the term “hired hands” comes from. The best leaders engage the head and heart of their employees in addition to their hands.
3. Reinvent Continuously. To possess a never-ending focus on improvement. Blanchard and Miller believe a leader must be willing to reinvent on at least three levels. The first is personal. Some key questions they recommend asking are: How am I learning and growing as a leader? and What am I doing to encourage others in my group to constantly learn and reinvent themselves? The second level of reinvention is systems and processes: How are we doing the work? How can we do it better? and What changes would enhance our ability to serve our customers and each other? The third type of reinvention involves the structure of the organization. A recommended question to ask here is: What structural changes do we need to make to be more efficient and effective?
4. Value Results and Relationships. The ability to generate positive, measurable results AND cultivate great relationships with those you lead. Leading at a higher level includes both results and relationships. The authors encourage leaders to put equal emphasis on both.  According to Ken Blanchard, “We traditionally teach people the important skills they need to get results: problem solving, decision making, and so on. Leaders need to put an equal emphasis on building relationships and connecting with people.  It’s both/ and, not either/ or.”
5. Embody the Values. To live in a fashion consistent with your stated values. This is fundamental and ongoing, explain Blanchard and Miller. If a leader loses their credibility, their leadership potential will be greatly limited. Aspiring leaders must do more than articulate values—they must live their values every day.

How would you rate yourself in these five areas?  In your experience, which of these five attributes holds leaders back most often?

For the new 10^th anniversary edition, Blanchard and Miller have added a skills assessment and a special new section with their reflections on helping leaders develop these skills.  For new leaders looking to improve their ability to bring out the best in themselves and others, The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do provides an inspiring road map. You can learn more about the book, read an opening chapter, and access additional resources at this special book page.  To participate in a complimentary September 29 webinar that Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller are conducting on the key concepts of The Secret, click here!

In his book Leading at a Higher Level, business author Ken Blanchard explains that “When leaders are addicted to either ego affliction, it erodes their effectiveness.”

“Leaders dominated by false pride are often called ‘controllers.’ Even when they don’t know what they are doing, they have a high need for power and control. Even when it’s clear to everyone that they are wrong, they keep on insisting they are right.”

At the other end of the spectrum are the fear-driven leaders. Blanchard says these individuals are often characterized as “do-nothing bosses.” They’re described as “never around, always avoiding conflict and not very helpful.” Their fear of making a mistake and feelings of inadequacy keep them from taking action — even when they should.

Four Warning Signs

In their book Egonomics, authors David Marcum and Steven Smith identify four warning signs that an overactive ego might be undermining an executive’s career.

Seeking acceptance: A leader becomes overly concerned with what others think. This keeps leaders from being true to themselves. These leaders tend to play it safe, swim with the current and restate others’ ideas instead of putting forth their own.

Showcasing brilliance: Leaders go beyond sharing good ideas to making their brilliance the center of attention. When showcasing is allowed or encouraged, the casualty is collective wisdom. Paradoxically, the more a leader showcases his or her brilliance, the less likely people are to listen.

Being comparative: Instead of focusing on being their own personal best, these leaders find themselves fixated on comparing themselves to others. Excessive comparison turns colleagues into competitors, and competitors are not effective collaborators. Comparing strengths to weaknesses leads to excessive self-confidence or feelings of inadequacy.

Being defensive: Instead of defending an idea, these leaders find themselves defending their positions as if they were defending themselves personally. Leaders focus on proving their cases and deflecting alternative points of view. These leaders resist feedback, brush off mistakes and discussions become superficial.

Keep Ego In Balance

Because ego acts subtly and a healthy ego is necessary for anyone who aspires to leadership, the goal is not to remove ego from the equation, but to keep it in balance. Marcum and Smith recommend that leaders develop their humility, curiosity and veracity. The goal is to achieve and maintain an intelligent self-respect and genuine confidence.

With a little bit of vigilance and an understanding of the four overactive ego warning signs, leaders can head off trouble before it erodes their effectiveness. Leaders with an accurate perception of self, who remain open to feedback and who maintain a commitment to something larger than their personal self interests can help others do the same.

You can learn more about the dangers of an overactive executive ego and explore some additional resources and strategies from David Marcum, Steven Smith, Ken Blanchard, Matthew Hayward and Jim Collins by checking out the new Chief Learning Executive article, When Ego Trumps the Company.

Now, I have a version of the golden rule I would like to share specifically with you in your role as a leader:

“Do unto your direct reports as you would have them do unto your customers.”

One of the primary drivers of customer devotion and retention is the quality of the relationship the frontline staff has with customers. As a leader, what’s the best way you can impact the service your customers receive from your staff? It’s simple. Model the behavior you want to see in your people. Our research has shown that employees’ willingness to create positive relationships with their customers is a direct reflection of the relationship they have with you, their leader.

If you want your staff to care for, and about, your customers, you have to care for, and about, your staff. If you want your people to be service-minded and work to create loyal, committed, Raving Fans customers, you have to be willing to do the same for them.

Creating a Personal Connection

How’s your current relationship with your people? Could it use a boost? Here are three ways to get started.

1. Take some relational risks. Find out what matters to your people—yes, each one of them. (People are different—that pesky DNA!) In this case, apply the platinum rule, or at least a version of it. “Care for your people the way they want to be cared for.”

2. See people differently. People are not a part, component, or even an asset of the organization. As Ken Blanchard says, “People are the organization—everything else is assets.” We may love automation, but somewhere along the line flesh and blood will get involved—whether it be to flip the switch the very first time, to write the initial code to be programmed, or to double-check the self-service receipt.

3. Make sure your people know the difference they make in the lives of others. Staff should have a direct line of sight from what they’re doing (no matter what it is) to the impact that job or activity has on the customer. Help your people make that connection.

Take Care of the People Who Take Care of Your Customers

People may get paid by the organization, but they work for you. Great customer service is a relationship—an emotional connection that is built between a customer and your company. The people who create and maintain that relationship on the organization’s behalf are your frontline people. The quality of that relationship is a direct reflection of the relationship your staff has with you.

If you want your people to care about your customers, you have to care about your people. Get started today!

About the author:

Ann Phillips is a Senior Consulting Partner with The Ken Blanchard Companies where she specializes in consulting and keynoting on customer loyalty, employee engagement, leadership, organizational change, and team building.

Executives from leading companies in the US, Canada, and Europe will be sharing stories of how they have successfully met these challenges through development programs that teach leaders how to co-create, co-design, and collaborate more effectively.

That’s the type of leader Blanchard believes is needed to effectively turn the organizational pyramid upside down.  As he explains, “We’ve seen the negative result of self-serving leadership where all the money, power, and recognition moves up the hierarchy.  Self-serving leaders think that leadership is all about them and not about the best interests of the people they serve.  They forget about acting with respect, care, and fairness for all involved.”

Blanchard’s dream is that someday everyone will know someone who is leading at a higher level.  Self-serving leaders will be a thing of the past and leadership around the world will be composed of people who, as Robert Greenleaf said, “Serve first and lead second.”

Helping Blanchard spread the word will be several best-selling business authors each sharing a unique perspective on leading in today’s world.

Liz Wiseman, author of Multipliers, will be sharing her research into the traits of leaders who “multiply” the talents of the people they serve.  She will also look at some of the ways that leaders accidentally diminish the performance of direct reports through behaviors they may be unaware of.

Dr. Henry Cloud, clinical psychologist and bestselling author of Boundaries for Leaders, will share how saying “no” to some priorities allows leaders to better say “yes” to others. Cloud will look at how human behavior, neuroscience, and business leadership can come together to improve performance and increase employee and customer satisfaction.

Matthew Emerzian, author of Every Monday Matters will explore the impact that one person can have in this world.  Drawing on his own liberating experience of spending one day a week in service to others, Emerzian will share how small, seemingly inconsequential acts of service can have a big impact in your own life and the lives of others.

Are you ready to serve?

In his book, The Secret: What Great Leaders Know—And Do, Ken Blanchard, along with co-author Mark Miller outline five areas a serving leader of the future needs to excel at.  How would you assess your leadership in these five areas?

1. See the Future.  Leadership is about taking people from one place to another.  What is your team’s purpose? Where do you want your team to be in five years?  How many members of your team could clearly explain the group’s purpose and goal to others?
2. Engage and Develop Your People. Once vision and direction are set, a leader’s job is to turn the hierarchal pyramid upside down so everyone is focused on helping those closest to the customer.  How are you encouraging the development of your people? To what extent have you successfully engaged each member of your team?  What have you done to suggest to your people that when it comes to implementation activities, you work for them?
3. Reinvent Continuously.  Great leaders don’t rest on their laurels.  How often do you review: How can we do the work better? How can we do it for less? What systems or processes can we change to enhance performance?
4. Value Results and Relationships. Serving leadership requires a balanced approach to results and people—it’s not an either/or question.  To what degree do you have high expectations for both results and relationships? How many of your people would say that you have made a significant investment in their lives? What are the ways that you have expressed appreciation for work well done in the last 30 days?
5. Embody the Values. In today’s age of transparency, being bold enough to lead others requires authenticity and trust. Do people know where you stand, what they can expect from you, and what you expect from them?  How well do your daily activities align with your personal values?

Review these five areas often, (you’ll see that the first letter of each factor spells SERVE to help you remember.) Continually doing a good job in each of these areas is a significant task—don’t be too tough on yourself if you see a couple of areas for improvement.  Every step you take in this direction will bring you closer to leading at a higher level.  Get started today!

PS:  Interested in learning more about Blanchard Summit 2013?  Use this link to download a brochure or request an invitation.

Stress in the workplace

Leading Others

That’s been one of my mantras – focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.
Steve Jobs

Brian Alexander is the Marketing Project Specialist with The Ken Blanchard Companies. 

Traditional learning turned upside down.

Collaboration is everything

A leader is someone who steps back from the entire system and tries to build a more collaborative, more innovative system that will work over the long term.
– Robert Reich

Brian Alexander is the Marketing Project Specialist with The Ken Blanchard Companies.